The Autumn Harvest
by LunaBella88
Summary: The leaves, in the chill of the fall air, begin to change. Their color fading from a healthy green, to vivid reds and yellows and browns, only just before the mild breeze snatches them from there home on the branches of the ever dying trees. And dancing in the midst of the billowing leaves and gently guiding the wind was the spirit herself, the harvester, the harbinger of Autumn.
1. The First Days of Autumn

_**Before you read:**_** Not everything in this story is going to be completely accurate. I don't know the whole story about the guardians from the books or anything, this is all coming from from an imagination that's been pent up for a very long time, and is not to be taken seriously. So if you're bothered by historical or fictional inaccuracy, this might not be the story for you. **

**If it doesn't bother you, then please; read, enjoy, and even review if you feel so inclined.**

**~Luna Bella~**

_The First days of Autumn ~ Prologue  
_

A young woman somewhere in her late-teens ran, stumbling through the darkened forest, the sun only barely beginning to peak out above the horizon. The autumn chill did not seem to faze her as she coughed and gasped for air as she ran, somehow willing all the smoke she inhaled to leave her lungs. Finally becoming too dizzy to run anymore, she fell, dark brown hair falling around her soot covered face, her dark blue eyes hazy and unfocused as she struggled to breathe again. With some effort she turned her blurry gaze up to the autumn moon for what she thought would be one last time.

Autumn…It was the season her parents had loved, the season she had been born into, the season that brought her the most comfort. It was her namesake, her confidant, her memory and her joy, and now it would be the season of her death. Slowly the steady rising sun began to turn dark, her eyes became heavy and her breath became as ragged as her tattered, scorched clothing. And finally giving way to the poison in her lungs, she closed her eyes for a final time, silently wishing the fading autumn sunrise goodbye.

* * *

She seemed to be floating, comfortable and too relaxed to even attempt to open her eyes. The darkness swirled like smoke around her; she was too tired to be frightened. She had no idea how long she had been like this, all she knew was that she couldn't think, couldn't feel, and she wanted to stay just like this, without a care in the world.

"…tum", a low, echoing voiced mixed itself in with the swirling smoke, creeping into her mind like a thief out to steal her comfort.

"…Autumn..." it whispered once again, desperate for her attention. She was curious, she didn't want the swirling comfort to leave, but the voice was soft, gentle, and beckoning to her.

"…Who are you?" she struggled to whisper back. Almost immediately after the words left her mouth, her chest felt as though it was set on fire. Desperately she tried to scream, but though her mouth was wide open, there was no sound. She was in pain, immensely, she felt as though she had burning hot coal scorching her lungs. Her small, pale hands lunged to clutch her chest and at the same time, it seemed, a force hit her square in the head so hard it threw her head backwards; her whole life was being relived inside her mind. From the day she was born to the most loving parents in the world, to the horrible night her mother lay sick and dying in bed, to the parting of ways of her and her father as he was sent away to war, and last to the burning house that was the cause of her current pain.

All at once, the burning in her chest ceased at the same time the memories faded to black, and with a jolt, she snapped upright, gasping for air, eyes wide and searching. She was in the forest, it was close to harvest time, the trees were beginning to turn from the deep green to a bold mix of reds, yellows and browns. The sun was setting on the horizon..wait..it was setting? It seemed like not too long ago it was rising. How long had she been out for? And more importantly, why was she even awake? She should have been dead! She had to have answers. She had to find a doctor, she wanted to go home, but to what? Those horrid bandits had burned her house to the ground.

She sighed, and slowly began to lift herself up on shaky legs. As she stood, her long, wavy hair fell into her face and she froze. In what little light the sunset had left for her, she saw her hair, but it was different. Somehow her hair had turned from it's dark brown locks to a rich, auburn color. Slowly reaching up she grabbed a handful of auburn tangles and tugged. Following the dull pain in her scalp came the realization that it was, indeed, her own hair. And it would seem not only had her hair changed, but so had her skin! It had paled from a healthy tan color to pale white, something was horribly wrong.

Feeling panic begin to settle in, she began to walk hurriedly towards the nearby pond, maybe she could see her reflection. Steadily her walk turned into a sprint, and her sprint turned into a run. She had to know what was happening; maybe it was a trick of the light. Her pace began to slow as she drew closer to the pond. When she reached the waters edge she dropped down onto the soft, yellowing grass. Swallowing, she leaned over to examine her reflection. Her hair was the same auburn color, her skin was still pale white, the color around her eyes had darkened into a smoky brownish color, and her lips were a scarlet red. But what had frightened her most were here crystal clear amber colored eyes. What happened to the deep blue she cherished? The eyes her mother had gifted to her? What was happening to her? She was almost lost in thought when a flash of color caught her attention in her reflection. A sharp contrast against her tattered brown and soot covered clothing.

Hesitantly and fearfully she twisted to face her back against the shining pool of water and gasped, half in wonder and half in fear. How had she not noticed before? Protruding from her pale back, through her long auburn hair, were two wings almost shaped like a butterflies, but tattered around the edges and bathed in a swirl of red and gold with specks of black and brown. She was paralyzed with fear, was she dreaming? What was happening to her?

Suddenly a small ripple managed to catch her attention and her gaze shifted to the reflection of the full, bright, silvery moon. Its rays seemed to reflect off the pool and shine right at her, as though it was gazing at her, she was mesmerized. Slowly she pulled her gaze up away from the water and towards the source of light itself and stood, staring back at it, wondering, maybe, if it was the moons voice she had been hearing.

"You…You said my name?" she whispered softly and a bit timidly. Instantly the moons light shifted from the pond to shine directly on her and brightened once it reached her. In her heart she began to feel a sort of warmth spreading, she felt safe, she knew what ever had happened; she was going to be okay. She had always been an intelligent girl, slow to anger with the patience and understanding of an angel, even in the face of death.

"I died?" she asked sadly, she remained quiet. To anyone else, she might have been having a conversation with herself, really, unbeknownst to them, the moon was speaking back.

"I see…Thank you…" she began again, "I don't quite understand, and I'm a little frightened, but thank you for giving me a second chance, for letting me live out my namesake..." She closed her eyes as a small smile graced her lovely face, "I'll do my best, I will make you proud…as the spirit of Autumn." As those words left her mouth, a gentle breeze began to blow around her and the trees she stood under, knocking away the dead leaves and encircling her frame, as though the autumn itself had become her very aura.

* * *

To Be Continued in Ch. 1


	2. A Candles Light

_**Just as a note to clear up any confusion, this story takes place long before the Guardians banded together. Pitch will be horribly out of character right now but don't worry; there is a method behind the madness. As a disclaimer I don't have anything to do with Rise of the Guardians. Just a bored writer with some different ideas. **_

* * *

_Chapter 1 ~ A Candles Light_

The trees stood uncharacteristically still; there was no soft breeze to dance with their branches. The leaves were a stale green, waiting almost impatiently for the season that would bring them eternal rest. The grass was soft and tall, hiding the animals that flit here and there, sensing that something was coming. The whole forest was still in waiting, waiting for her to arrive. And then, like a soft beat of an angels wing, the breeze, gently and tenderly began to stir up the grass and the trees. Busy animals stopped in their tracks, still as stone, watching the way the wind came, waiting. And finally the long wait was over; there, emerging from the horizon, was a lone figure, beautiful and graceful as the wind carried her steps onward. A fair maiden, clothed in the colors of autumn, from her tattered fiery colored skirt, to her corset fashioned out of the brightly colored leaves of past fall seasons. Her hair was like darkened honey, long and thick, dancing with the gentle wind. Her eyes, bright and golden, seemed to glow in the rays of the afternoon sun, and her white complexion was a stark contrast to the large red and golden, tattered butterfly-like wings that protruded from her back.

Her rose colored lips curved gently into a serene smile as she reached her destination in the quiet forest. She stopped walking and looked around as her smile grew.

"I hope you didn't wait too long for me, beloved." She whispered gently as her slender feet took her over to the nearest tree, and raising a pale hand, she placed it gently on the waiting tree. Instantly the wood beneath her slender fingers began to darken and crack. She watched patiently as it began to spread down to its deep roots, and up to its long branches. Reaching the trees outstretched arms, the leaves shuttered with the breeze as their color began to fade from there stale green, to deep yellows, and bright reds. The fruit they bore ripened and threw themselves from their home and on to the forest floor below, waiting to be harvested and stored for winter.

The gentle spirit, with slow steps and outstretched hands, began her trek through the waiting forest, brushing every tree, every bush and every blade of grass she came across, beginning their decent into death and rebirth, the animals followed closely behind hoping to pick up whatever the trees cast away. She made her way through the shallow forest, humming a gentle tune as she went, never missing a single blade of grass that called out to her. Smiling at her work, she gently unfolded her wings behind her and lifted herself into the sky, heading towards the west. It was time to visit the farms now, the crops were almost ready to harvest and they needed a bit of a push to rippen just in time.

As she flew, she was reminded, nostalgically, of when she was a brand new spirit, almost five hundred years ago. She had never flown before, she was terrified, none the less, she pushed herself, she swallowed her fear and lunged herself into the air. It was a rough start, and she couldn't count on both hands how many times she had crashed. But after a couple years of practice she finally got the hang of it. She had found out, shortly after she realized she could fly, that she was also invisible. She had quite unsteadily flown herself to the nearest village and landed right in the middle of town, and no one had even noticed. She ran straight to where the doctors cottage was, right as he was about to enter his home, she stepped right in front of him, and to her horror, he went right through her. It was the saddest feeling she had ever felt in her new life. But the moon guided her, and she met other spirits, however rare, who had helped her along the way.

She was jolted out of her reminiscing suddenly, as she flew straight into what looked like an angry black cloud. But it couldn't have been a cloud; she was surrounded by a black, grainy texture that almost felt like sand. In a moment of panic, she had forgotten that she was supposed to be flying, and she plummeted out of the cloud of sand and straight towards the hard earth. She felt the wind rushing past her ears and she was frightened, and in her fear forgot how spread her wings and fly. And then she was still, she wasn't falling anymore, she was sitting…in midair? Confused she looked down and gasped, the same black sand she had flown into was now swirling underneath her, not engulfing her, but holding her up.

"Are you alright?" asked a thickly accented and very smooth voice. Startled, her head shot up and her eyes focused. He was a very tall grey skinned man, with spiky black hair, clothed in a long black coat that reached his feet, and eyes almost as yellow as hers. Floating on a cloud of sand of his own, he gazed at her with concern.

"You flew straight into my sand, you must be more careful." He smiled teasingly.

Standing on shaky legs, she smiled her gentle smile at him. "I'm alright thank you, I'm so sorry, I wasn't even paying attention. Thank you for catching me."

His yellow eyes widened ever so slightly at her gentle smile, she was beautiful. He gulped nervously and muttered, "No trouble."

Knowingly her smile widened at his nervousness, and spoke as she attempted to ease his discomfort. "My name is Autumn, I'm the spirit of…well…Autumn. You must be new; I've never seen you before, what's your name?"

He looked down, finding his shuffling feet to be very interesting all the sudden, "My name is Pitch. I am new, I'm still learning how to use this black sand stuff. I was practicing when you flew into my cloud. I'm uh…" he hesitated, the nervous pit in his stomach at what he and the moon had discussed. "…I'm not sure just yet what I'm the spirit of."

Autumn tilted her head to the side and her smile faded just a bit, she knew what it was like to be new and unsure. She wanted to help, so that's just what she would do.

"Well, Pitch, why don't you come with me, it's the first day of the autumn season, and I'm on my way now to get it started. I can show you what I know, and maybe we can help you find your specialty?" She extended her hand to him in invitation to join her. Pitch felt butterflies in his stomach, he wasn't sure what to do, he knew what the moon had told him, but he didn't want that. If she could help him, maybe he had a chance.

"Alright," he said gently, taking her outstretched hand in his. His butterflies grew; her pale hand was soft, and so small in comparison to his. She giggled softly at his hesitation.

"It's alright, don't be afraid. Let's get started shall we? There is a village just below us that is almost ready to harvest their crops for the season. It's my job to make sure the harvest ripens completely so that the village can have food for the winter. Understand?" He nodded in understanding and together, hand in hand descended towards the earth, black sand trailing sluggishly behind.

* * *

"So, after five hundred years, people still don't see you?" Questioned and astonished Pitch as he walked alongside Autumn in the now fading forests of a job well done. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

She smiled a sad but reassuring smile, "Sometimes it's lonely, but after five hundred years, one gets used to it." She giggled at the sad look on his face. "It's alright; my joy comes from bringing Autumn to the world. I give them crops to help them through the winter, I give them color in the trees, and golden autumn mornings, the children love it when I make piles of leaves they can jump and play in. The soft glow of the fire from the hearth brings warmth and closeness to a family, and the smell of autumn leaves and spice scent there home. It's a wonderful feeling, it's warm. And it makes me happy."

Tearing his gaze away from the fading sunset, he looked at her, eyes searching her face, "Do you ever wish that you could have what they have? To be seen and believed in? To take credit for all your hard work?" He was confused as she gently shook her head.

"For me, it's not about credit, or wanting. It's about doing what I love most," she smiled softly as she stopped walking and reached up a slender hand to touch a jade green leaf that had yet to turn colors. She turned to him and took his hand in hers, "Find what you love, Pitch. Find what makes you happy, and hold onto it. Never ever let it go." Pitch looked down at his feet in contemplation, what did he love? He was a brand new spirit, what was his passion?

"So your sand, you think you've almost got the hang of it?" he was jolted out of his thoughts by her serene voice as she continued to walk on. He nodded following her, thinking over all he had learned today. "It's strange," she continued, "You can wield your black sand just like the sandman wields his, only his sand brings dreams. Do you know what yours does yet?" Pitch gulped hard as the butterflies in his stomach were replaced with knots.

"I…don't want to tell you. Honestly I lied, I know what I'm spirit of, but you might look at me differently. And I haven't even accepted it myself yet…" He looked away, unwilling to meet her gentle golden eyes. Her smile fell and she stopped walking, gently reaching up to grab his face with both her hands, she looked him square in the eyes.

"Don't ever be ashamed of who you are or what you do. We all have a purpose, it's not a matter of what you can do, it's a matter of how you do it." She spoke firmly, like a mother lovingly scolding a child. Pitch shut his eyes tight, wiling the knots in his stomach away, and breathing in deeply he sighed.

"I was told I am to be the spirit of fear…my job is to torment and watch people suffer…" Pitch refused to open his eyes, he couldn't bear to the see the horror and disgust he knew would mare her gentle features. To his shock, instead of drawing away from him, she hugged him. His eyes snapped open, her head just barley reach the bottom of his chin, and he could smell the light scent of spices and herbs in her soft auburn hair. Her hug was gentle, but reassuring. Slowly, and very hesitantly, he wrapped his long slender arms around her shoulders, and she chuckled at his confusion.

"Listen to me," she spoke as she pulled away from him, much to his dismay, "Just because you live in the dark, doesn't mean you have to be the darkness. Sometimes fear is what leads a person to find courage, it's what draws a parent and child closer together in the dark winter nights, and it's what brings a community together to make them strong. A lot of good can come from bad, it's just a matter of perception. You can use your gift to help people grow, not to tear them apart."

Pitch was stunned into silence, he never would have thought…he didn't have to be evil, he didn't have to be bad. He gazed intently at her, wondering how she could be so kind, so understanding. She seemed to recognize the confusion in his eyes.

"I'm your friend, Pitch, and I'm here to help you as much as you'll allow me. I'll be your candlelight in the darkness."

A friend? Maybe that's just what he needed, truth be told he didn't want to be ignored, and he didn't want to be alone. Timidly he nodded in acceptance at her friendship and she smiled gently at him, and hand in hand together, as a new found friendship settled between them, they walked towards the sunset on the horizon, and straight on towards a very dark future.

* * *

_**To be Continued in Ch2**_


	3. The Fading of the Fall

_**FYI: I am not opposed to reviews, I actually haven't written in a long time, so any friendly criticism or compliments would be greatly appreciated and very helpful. Thank You.**_

_**Chapter 3 ~ The Fading of the Fall**_

Laughter seemed to float along the tops of the trees and into the air, echoing through the forest. The source of merriment came from who else, but our very own autumn spirit as she danced and twirled her way through her dense forest, pulling along a dark chuckling figure. He followed, running behind her, wondering how in the world she could change so suddenly from her calm and serene composure, to one of frolic and playfulness like that of a child. However she did it, it was contagious as he was unable to hide the grin spreading from ear to ear on his face.

"Come on, Pitch!" she yelled back at him after running a distance ahead of him, "You're too slow!" she giggled.

"Well," he huffed back, chuckling, "Some people haven't had five hundred years to practice flying, like others have." He smirked.

She stopped and turned to look at him, her smile growing, she was happy he was beginning to open up, "Well, you'll never get better without practice, beloved!"

Pitch nearly tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face. Did she just call him beloved? He had to stop and think, she calls everything beloved, he had heard it while she was helping him adjust and showing him how to wield his power. She called the forest and everything in it beloved, so why should he be different? Shaking it off, his smirk returned and he called out to her,

"Yes, dear, but there is quite a difference between helping me practice, and murder." He chuckled again.

Her smile grew to and outright grin, he was beginning to joke around with her, she was happy he was opening up. And she couldn't help but giggle when he finally caught up to her and hunched over to catch his breath.

"Where are we going, anyway?" he managed to huff out.

"Well," her smile went mischievous, and he was instantly suspicious, wondering what she had up her sleeve, "You're a new spirit right? Which means you probably don't have a home yet? So I figured until you find somewhere that makes you happy, you can share mine! It's not as big as the Tooth Palace, or the North Pole, mind you, but its home. I think you'd like it." Her smile softened, waiting for him to answer and secretly hoping he agreed. She may be happy as the Spirit of Autumn, but she was still lonely. And now that she's made a new friend, she didn't want him to disappear.

It took Pitch a moment to register what she had just offered. She was right; he didn't have a home just yet. But could he really impose on her? Blinking, he focused his attention back on her face. She was smiling at him, waiting patiently, he could see the hope in her eyes, so maybe it wasn't just for him either, maybe she needed someone to. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, he accepted, nodding his head slowly, almost afraid that if he shook his head too hard, he would wake up and find out it was all just a dream.

Autumns face brightened instantly at his acceptance. Holding back a squeal of excitement she grabbed his hand and began running, dragging him behind her continuing down the forest path. She tugged so hard he nearly lost his balance and fell flat on his face, despite that he chuckled, finding her excitement rather adorable. And after about five minutes of running, Pitch finally had to wonder out loud,

"So why aren't we flying there? Why are we running?" he huffed.

And suddenly she stopped running so quickly he finally lost his balance and ran straight into her and fell backwards onto the forest floor with a loud 'Oof'. Giggling she turned around and stretched out her hand to help him back on his feet and dust him off.

"Because were already here," she whispered as she turned ahead and took a few steps forward. All he could see were thick dark trees fading into the blackness of the forest. Not even the moons light could find its way through the trees. Slowly she reached out her hand and seemed to place it on something invisible in front of her. Waiting and watching, he was taken by surprise as colors of brown, red, yellow and green began to spill from her fingertips, it swirled out in one smooth motion and began to take shape, growing bigger and bigger, taking on the form of a row of trees on either side of them, the branches arched up and entwined with each other forming what seemed to be a long hallway of red and brown and yellow. All Pitch could do was stare, jaw slightly dropped at the display he just witnessed. A light giggling snapped him out of his daze, and he glanced over at Autumn. She was waiting for him, a small smirk on her face and hands resting on her hips. Sighing and shaking his head, he moved past her and into the archway of what looked like oak trees

"Yes, yes, come along you bloody show off," he teased.

Laughing she replied, "Welcome home, Pitch. I call it, the Oaken Palace." He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised and an amused grin on his mouth. "The Oaken Palace?" he laughed, "Really?"

Giving him a mock scowl, she shook her finger at him, "Don't you judge me, Pitch Black. It's an awesome name and you know it!" Raising his hands in the air in defense, he laughed, "Alright, Alright, if you say so." And he followed her as she made her way down the archway path, and to their home. Her front door was set into a giant tree, it was large and pointed at the top, with intricate carvings of swirls, leaves, animals and trees of all kinds. Opening the large door she stood to the side to allow him to enter first, "Welcome home, Pitch."

She was right, it wasn't as big as the other palaces. In fact, it wasn't even a palace at all. The entrance had been grand indeed, but the inside of the 'palace', as Autumn liked to call it, was just a very large room made out of the hollow of a giant oak tree. The oaken walls swirled upwards in a spiral, twisting themselves together and closing at the top. While it was no palace, it was definitely a very large room. On one side was a large fireplace, there was a fire inside, crackling and lighting the whole house. On the wall next to the fireplace was a bookshelf made out of, of course, oak, and full of all kinds of books. And on the floor against the wall right next to the book shelf, was a mess of blankets and pillows he assumed is where she slept. Other than that, there was a lot of empty space, no wonder she was so lonely. Autumn stood next to him gazing lovingly at her home,

"It's not much, but its home, and there's plenty of space for you to make your bed. I can sew together some extra pillows and blankets, I don't have anything as fancy as a bed though." She giggled. And he wondered how in the world she could be so content with so little. But he could be happy here, as long as he wasn't alone, he could be happy...

* * *

10 years later…

Life with Pitch had been interesting over the last few years. He had been very quiet and sometimes mysterious. But he was always kind to Autumn, and always open to her, only her. He had met others like them, once or twice. It had been awkward, Pitch didn't know them, nor did he trust them, at least, not the way he trusted Autumn. She had taken care of him, she had taught him to use his power of fear and darkness to its full potential, not just for bad but for good as well, and she was always there to remind him why he couldn't let the power go to his head. He was fear incarnate; it was his job to bring fear to the world, to draw out peoples strengths in their moments of weakness, and to be the dark that made the light shine brighter.

But there had been a time when the power had gone to his head. He was powerful by every meaning of the word, and he enjoyed the feeling of being in control of not only himself, but of others, and he began to enjoy his job a little too much, and many suffered for it. And then, like the autumn chill on that first fall day that you don't expect, she was there. She was anything but stupid and she knew what was happening to him, so she saved him. They were each others best friends, and she would be damned if she let something happen to him. It took a bit of scolding and some tough love, but she managed to snap him out of it, and she was right there to help pick up the pieces of his broken heart when he realized what he almost became. A while had passed since then, and Autumn had kept a close eye on him since the last incident, gently steering him in the right direction.

And then, over the next few years, life in the world began to change. From the time of village cottages and houses made of straw with warm families and faithful friends, to dark castles, rich corrupted kings, homeless orphans and the shadow of death lurking around every crumbling corner of the world, these were called the Dark Ages. The people were afraid, of everything, even the ones they used to love most. Autumn became a season of foreboding to the world, the forthcoming of a harsh and deadly winter. No one remembered the bright colors, or the warmth of a fireplace, or the scent of food sprinkled with spice. There were no more crops to harvest, everything died before it had a chance to grow, even with the Spirit of Fall's help. The Autumn spirit herself took it the hardest, all of her hard work and love she put into every season had died. And while Autumn became sad and weak and sick, Pitch became stronger, the fear was what gave him strength, whether or not it was his doing. But Pitch didn't seem to care, he was worried about Autumn, she hardly ever left their home anymore, her forest was dying, and so was the light in her heart. Pitch used every ounce of strength he gained to protect and care for her. He no longer needed to use his own fear to survive; the world was doing it for him. So he stayed at home with her, never once leaving her side.

One night, Autumn sat in front of the fireplace wrapped in a blanket with her knees drawn to her chest, staring intently at the blazing fire. Pitch was sitting in his make shift bed on the floor across the room, nose deep in one of her favorite books.

"Pitch?" she whispered quietly. In an instant he was by her side, "Do you think the world will be alright?" she wondered solemnly, "I wonder if it will ever feel the glow of autumn again…" she spoke quietly, her voice was broken and sad, and it broke his heart. He gazed at her for a moment, trying to mask the worry on his face.

"Yes," he finally whispered back to her lowering himself to sit next to her, "Don't ever give up on it, do you remember? That's exactly what you said to me. Well you can't give up now either, and I won't let you." She turned her head, her now dull yellow eyes focusing on him; she smiled that smile that he had so come to love. Closing her eyes she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, as he draped his arm around her. He stayed just like that with her, holding her close and watching the ever blazing fire that never seemed to die out, and after a while her breathing evened out to let Pitch know she had fallen asleep, and carefully, he lifted her and brought her over to her pile of blankets on the floor and tucked her in. Even in her sleep she looked tormented, he couldn't stand it any longer, and something in his mind finally snapped. Leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he whispered to her sleeping form, "Don't worry, I'm going to fix this for you, I promise I'll make you well again."

And with a new determination in his eyes, he stood silently and for the first time since she fell ill, he left. He was going to bring autumn back, one way, or another, and heaven help whoever was responsible for the current state of the world. He would make them suffer, just as she's had to suffer.

* * *

_**To be Continued in Ch3**_


	4. Madness in the Dark

_**Madness in the Dark**_

The moon was full tonight, big, bright, and somehow foreboding, as though trying to warn the world something awful was coming. It shone its bright, silvery light down on one particular castle. It was a lavish home to a corrupted, rich king. It was a castle of greed and hate, and tonight it would be a castle of nightmares. Slinking quietly through the shadows in the corridors was a very angry and very vengeful spirit of darkness. His bright yellow eyes gleamed with malice and determination. His long black coat billowed out behind him as the wind blew in through the open windows, almost beckoning him to turn around and go back. Back home to her. But she was the very reason he was here, he was on a mission for her sake that he would not fail.

His frown turned into a malicious grin when he found the room he had been looking for, with a very oblivious wannabe king inside. He had heard the rumors in the village below the castle. When, what they called, the dark ages began, the previous king had died with no heir to claim the throne. In his stead, the corrupt adviser of the old king took his place with no one to challenge him, and the kingdom fell. He raised taxes, stole the people's crops and only rationed them out, keeping most for himself. And anyone that dare even think a single negative thought against him was killed. Plague and disease hit shortly afterwards and no one could work for their food, no one could raise crops any longer. And according to rumor, other kingdoms were following his lead. This is why the world was so frightened, why no one enjoyed the fall season anymore, and why Pitch had grown so powerful. And now he was going to use that power to save her. He decided that if these corrupt kings and fallen kingdoms were the cause of all her pain, well, he was going to leave them a message every single night for the rest of their miserable lives, well, at least until they decided to make the world the way it used to be. And if they never did? He would be there, tormenting them with fears and darkness they never knew they could ever be afraid of.

And there he was, his first victim, sleeping so soundly without a single care in the world, unbeknownst to what was about to befall him. But what was this? Golden figures of sand swirled above his sleeping head, images of gold and food and treasure. Pitch's frightening grin turned sour, how dare this man dream! How dare he sleep so soundly dreaming of riches he already had, while SHE was so tormented that her illness carried into her dreams and made her cry out at night in pain and fear. Pitch would not stand for this. He made his way over to the happily sleeping man, he was curious, if the Sandman's sand made people dream, he wondered what his black sand could do, he already knew it was powerful, but he still wondered. Taking a bit of sand out of his pocket, he stretched out his hand and released it, sprinkling it onto the golden sand of dreams. To his shock and delight, once his sand touched the dreams it spread, corrupting the once golden sand, then the images began to change. Dreams of riches and comfort morphed into images of people suffering and dying and castles crumbling. The rich king sound asleep in his bed began to toss and turn and groan in discomfort. Pitch smiled a cruel and sadistic smile.

"I'm sorry, Sandman," he whispered, "but if this is the only way, then so be it." This was it; he was one step closer to restoring autumn. If he could scare the kings and corrupt rulers into changing their ways, maybe the world could go back to the way it used to be. He smiled at the thought, as he turned and continued into the rest of the castle to spread his newly discovered power of nightmares. She would get better again, she would laugh and sing and dance her way through the forest, restoring the joy of autumn to the world just the way she used to. And what a beautiful singer she was, she sung often to the forest and the crops and the animals, and sometimes even to him, with the voice like the soft ringing of bells as she sung her favorite lullaby. She would smile at him, the smile he had come to love so much, and the light would return to her eyes. He knew exactly what was driving him to this, he wasn't so oblivious that he couldn't see. He had fallen in love with her, with his best friend, and he knew she didn't feel the same way, if she did, they would have been together by now, but he didn't care. Despite how she felt he would stay by her side for all eternity, he would rather continue on in his one-sided love then ever be separated from her.

Making his way into the next room of a selfishly sleeping royal, he sighed, he knew she would be disappointed if she ever found out what he was doing, "I'm sorry I have to do this, Autumn," he whispered gently, turning his gaze up to the moon, "but I can't lose you, I refuse to let this continue." And with that he turned his attention to his next victim, continuing on with the punishment he had planned for the whole world.

* * *

Autumn gasped loudly as she shot upwards out of her fitful sleep. She had a horrible nightmare, but it felt like more than that, it felt real and foreboding. It was Pitch, her Pitch, but something was not right. He was standing on top of what looked like a crumbling globe of the world. There were lights, tiny lights all over the globe, but they were going out. And Pitch stood on top of the globe with an expression of delight and malice on his face as he laughed a spine chilling laugh, nothing at all like what she was used to hearing from him. And his golden eyes that always shined so lovingly at her were darkened with hate. Taking deep breaths she tried to calm herself down, it was just a dream. Her Pitch would never become that, not while she had anything to do with it. She saved him once, and she could do it again, she didn't care how sick she was. Speaking of Pitch, where was he? He wasn't on his mat reading her books like he usually was; maybe he went out for a walk. Still something didn't feel right, her dream kept haunting her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that Pitch was in trouble. Using the strength she had left she stood on shaky legs and tossed the blankets off of her onto the ground. The fall of the autumn season had taken its toll on her, she couldn't fly anymore, her pale white face was flushed so red she looked like a painted doll. And Pitch had to fashion a staff out of the oak tree that was there home so she could walk steadily. She hated this, she hated feeling so weak and useless, and she was being a burden to Pitch. She just didn't know what she could do to bring the autumn joy back to the world.

Reaching for her staff leaning against the bookshelf she made her wait outside on shaky legs. She felt uncomfortable leaving; she didn't have the magic to make her home invisible anymore, anyone that wonder too deeply into the forest could possibly find it. But she had to go, Pitch needed her. Staff in hand she made it about halfway through the forest before she had to stop and rest. This was taking way too long, she needed help if she ever hoped to find Pitch soon. There was one person she knew could hear her if she wished for him hard enough, he was never too far away. Closing her eyes she focused on what magic she had left and pictured the Sandman, willing him to hear her cry for help, hoping he would arrive soon. She was so relieved to hear the jingling sound of swirling dream sand. Opening her eyes she saw him materialize in front of her, a curious and confused look on his face. Before she could say a word she collapsed, using her remaining magic had taken a lot out of her. Feeling a soft, small hand grab hers, she looked up. Sandy was standing in front of her with a worried expression on his face and a sand made question mark hanging above his head. She sighed and hung her head dejectedly.

"Oh Sandy, I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you. The autumn season is gone, everything has died, and I've grown sick, I have no more magic, but that's not why I called for you," she began to tear up, "Pitch is gone, I don't know where he is, he didn't leave a note or tell me anything, that normally wouldn't bother me, but, I had a horrible nightmare, and I can't shake the feeling that something horrible is going to happen. I think Pitch is in trouble and I need to find him, could you help me?" Sandy could hear the desperation in her voice, and his face went grave.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, and reached into a hidden pocket, pulling out what looked like black sand. Autumn gasped, taken by surprise, that couldn't be what she thought it was. Above his head Sandman formed the silhouette of Pitch which then morphed into the image of a sleeping figure, looking down he pointed to the black sand in his hand. Realization dawned on Autumn and she was horrified. Pitch was out there turning Sandy's dreams into nightmares, but how did he learn that? She never taught him that, "…why?" she whispered softly.

Sandman formed the image of a crescent moon above his head, pointed to himself, shifted the image to a silhouette of Pitch, and then pointed to her. It took her a few minutes to understand, and she chocked back a sob when she finally understood. "The moon told you that he's doing it for me?... He's trying to help me! He thinks by spreading fear to the people of the world that somehow they'll change…" tears began to slide down her soft fevered cheeks. "Sandy, I have to help him, we can't let him continue, he'll never be the same again if we don't stop him!"

Desperately she forced herself onto her feet, forcing herself to try to start running but she only made it one step forward before she collapsed back onto the ground. Sandy was at her side, shaking his head to tell her not to try that again, but she didn't move, she lay still on the ground, he was almost beginning to panic until he heard the soft sobbing noise muffled by her face in the ground. Placing a small, golden hand on her shoulder, he stayed with her until she calmed down enough to speak. And finally sitting up slowly she shook her head, "I can't stay here Sandy, this is my fault. He wouldn't be out there now if it wasn't for me, I should have said something to him, I should have made sure he was okay. But now I have to take responsibility and bring him back. I won't sit around while he destroys his heart!" she slammed her hand into the dirt and shuttered as a wave of fresh tears poured from her eyes. And taking her staff in one hand, she heaved herself back up onto her feet despite Sandy's protest. After composing herself she looked down at him with her knowing smile back where it used to be.

"Help me find him, Sandy. You're faster than I am right now, I'll go slow and take it easy, but I will not stop searching." And giving him a wink she walked on with determination set in each step. He watched her go, knowing exactly how stubborn she could be sometimes; there was no talking her out of it. Conjuring up his dream sand he shot himself into the air and forward into the night, straight to where he felt his dreams being tampered with.

* * *

He had gone too far, he knew he had, but he couldn't seem to stop himself now. While Pitch had gone from castle to castle spreading fear to those he felt deserved it, he had accidentally frightened a villager working as a servant in the castle with the illusion of a monster he made from the shadows. Fear, he discovered, was far more potent in an innocent then it ever was in someone who was corrupted. He had a taste of it and something in him snapped, he had enjoyed it, and now he couldn't stop himself from making his way into the village full of innocent and miserable people below. He needed more fear, he needed more potent fear. The thin line between gaining power to save Autumn, and gaining power because it felt good was being crossed. And there was no going back. Yes, he would still protect her, he would always protect her, but he had to have his fill first. The screams and groaning he left in his wake throughout the village were music to his ears.

He was in the forest now, in between villages. He gazed down hungrily at the black sand swirling above his outstretched hand, with every innocent corrupted and frightened the stronger he would be. He moved to continue onto the next unsuspecting town when a bright golden light snapped around his wrist and yanked him backwards onto the ground. Cursing, he stood and dusted himself off, taking in his surroundings, he was in the middle of a forest clearing, standing in front of a small lake, and there one the other side was a small golden figure floating just above the ground. It was the Sandman. Pitch gulped nervously, he knew this was going to happen sooner or later, he had just wished it would have been later, he had been messing with Sandman's dreams, and now he was going to have to answer for it.

Stretching his arms open on either side, he called out, "I'm sorry, Sandman! But I had no choice; they didn't deserve to dream, not after what they've done to her! Let me carry out my vengeance and I promise not to mess with your dreams anymore!"

Sandman stared hard at him for a while, and finally closed his eyes and shook his head. Conjuring up the image of a butterfly made of sand he pointed west, where he knew Autumn's home was hidden. He was not going to relent, Autumn was out there and she needed him and Pitch right now.

Pitch sighed, "I can't go home yet, if I stop now I will have failed her, I won't show my face back there until I know she's well again. And I won't let you stand in my way..." Pitch had no idea where that came from, he didn't want to fight anyone, especially Sandy, but something in him was burning, driving him to stop for nothing and no one. His expression of pleading faded into a glare as he saw Sandy conjure his whips of dream sand. Sandy, it seemed, was not going to back down either.

Focusing his black sand into his right hand, he willed it to take shape, watching as if formed itself into a rather large black scythe. He turned his attention back to the Sandman, "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Sandy, but I won't give up." And with a renewed determination in his heart, he lunged, swinging with both hands, aiming for the spirit of dreams. Sandy dodged and lashed with his whips, as Pitch narrowly side stepped the attack. The game was on, and Pitch felt a malicious smile snake its way onto his face.

* * *

Autumn continued on, breathing heavily, forcing herself to continue walking. She had not allowed herself to stop and rest and a fever was beginning to take its toll on her, still, she pressed on. She would rest when she found Pitch, she would only return home with him, not by herself or with anyone else. It was her memories that helped her push onward, the memories of the life she and Pitch had shared. She remembered fondly when Pitch first moved in with her, he wouldn't go anywhere without her, nor would he let her go anywhere without him, she thought it was cute, he was like a lost puppy who had just found its master after being alone for so long. She didn't mind, she enjoyed the company, and through the years she had come to care for him with her whole heart. He meant the world to her, she almost wondered, sometimes, if she had begun to fall for the spirit of fear, but that wasn't possible, if she had, she was sure she would have known by now...Right?

She was brought, quit suddenly, out of her reminiscing by what sounded like metal against sand. And the heated yelling of a very familiar voice coated with a thick accent. It couldn't be…her Pitch? All at once, her pain and her lack of strength were thrown to the back of her mind; she could hear Pitch just beyond the tree line and into the moonlit clearing. He was in trouble and he needed her. Throwing her staff to the ground, weakness forgotten, she stumbled forward into a run, desperate to reach her friend. And finally as she tripped her way into the clearing unnoticed, she was stunned at what she saw. Her dear Pitch was fighting against Sandy, locked in battle, but why? Looking back at Pitch more closely, trying to focus on him as he maneuvered here and there, he seemed different. It's like he wasn't Pitch anymore. His eyes were unfocused and full of hate and malice, he had a wicked sneer marring his once gentle face, and he attacked Sandy with a ferocity that she had never seen before. He was more powerful then she had ever seen him, and she knew it was the fear he had caused, she instantly knew he had gone too far. She had failed him, she wasn't there to keep him from falling too far, and now she didn't know if she could get him back. But she was sure going to try, she had to stop this.

She began to make her way over to him when a horrible sight made her stop dead in her tracks. Pitch had finally hit the ever evasive Sandman with the back of his over sized scythe. Sandy was down, and Pitch was too far gone, he was going in for the kill as he drew his weapon as far back as he could. Autumn broke into a run, running as fast as she had ever thought she could in her whole existence, she had to get there in time...

Putting all his newly acquired strength into his final blow, Pitch swung, aiming right for the fallen spirit of dreams. And with the echoing sound of metal cutting into flesh, it was over, he had won. That is, until he glanced with triumph over at his latest victim and what he saw made him sick. Dropping his scythe and ignoring it as it dematerialized into black sand, he stumbled forwards, slowly at first then breaking out into a run to get to the other side of the small lake and only making it just in time to catch her in his arms before she fell…Autumn, what had she done…what had HE done. At the last minute before any of them had noticed, she had jumped in front of Sandman and taken his blow. And slowly lowering her to the ground he held her in his arms as tears began to form in his eyes and fall down his ashen grey face.

"Autumn…why?" he managed to choke out, "What were you thinking? What have you done!?" his voice rose in anger, but then softened when he saw her flinch.

"Because," she whispered, "I couldn't let you destroy your soul like this, once you took a life, you would change forever…" tears began to run down her face, "...You wouldn't be my Pitch anymore…"

He couldn't hold back the sob rising in his throat as he held her tight, unwilling to let her go for fear that she would disappear forever. Off to the side, the Sandman had recovered, and was watching with horror at what was happening, she had a hole straight through her chest were she had taken Pitch's attack to save Sandy, there was no helping her now. He had failed her to.

Autumn weakly lifted a pale hand to rest on the side of Pitch's face, as the soft smile he had loved and missed for so long finally reappeared on her gentle face. Pitch took her hand in his and held it tightly; all the lust for power that had blinded him in battle was gone. He was overcome with panic and fear, and he didn't know what to do.

"I wanted to save you," he managed between sobs, "We were going to be like we used to in the beginning, when we were happy. I..." it was now or never, "...I love you!"

Though the light in her eyes was fading, her gentle smile grew, "…I have always been happy with you…beloved..." And with her final thought voiced, her eyes grew heavy and closed as her hand in his went limp.

Pitch couldn't think, he couldn't move and he couldn't breathe, "No…" this couldn't be real, it wasn't, and he refused to believe it, "NO…" this wasn't happening, "Come back!"

…But it was, the evidence was lying limp in his arms. He felt like he was hyperventilating as he bent over her unmoving form, clutching her as tight as he could to his chest. He couldn't hold it in anymore, and for a final time, his mind snapped and the long waiting madness finally began to descend on him, and he didn't care who heard, or saw. He was screaming, as loud as his lungs could tolerate, a scream so full of agony and misery that the Sandman's heart shattered at the very sound. And as Pitch screamed and yelled into the night for his love to return, his black sand began to lift up off the ground and swirl around him and the woman in his arms, faster and faster until it was like a raging storm. The sound of wind and thunder of the sand storm mixed in with the sounds of agony coming from within, rang so loud the whole neighboring kingdom heard and ran inside their homes to lock their doors in fear.

And then as suddenly as it came, it stopped. And everything was gone, Pitch and Autumn included, the forest was quiet, and still. Sandy stood there, stunned and petrified at what he had just witnessed. His friend was gone, she saved his life and now she was gone and she had taken Pitch's sanity with her. Solemnly, he flew into the air, and began to head north, he needed to report this and warn the others. He saw Pitch's mind snap in those last moments, and he knew they hadn't seen the last of him. He would go tell them, they would mourn their loss, and then they would prepare for what was to come. The moon was bright that night, never taking his light off of the empty clearing in the forest.

* * *

_**It's not over yet. More to come in Chapter 4**_


	5. Lament for a Butterfly

_**Lament for a Butterfly**_

* * *

The room was dark, the fire had long since died, and it was quiet. There was no sound of the wind blowing through the trees, nor the birds chirping or animals flitting here and there. Everything was still, as though the world was in mourning. And in the center of the dark cold room, there sat a tall, slender figure clothed in black, gazing down at the fiery colored woman that lay still in his arms. His face was void of any emotion or expression. His mind was blank, all desperate attempts at holding onto the reality around him were lost, and all he could see was her. Gently tracing his grey fingers back and forth across the bleeding gash running across the top of her chest, he waited, he had been waiting all day and night for the wound to magically heal itself and for her to open her eyes and smile that beautiful smile of hers and tell him everything was going to be okay. He wouldn't move until she did.

His mind finally began to wonder, reminiscing back to all the times they sat quietly together in front of the blazing fire in the hearth, reading together and enjoying each others company, sometimes she would even read to him. He loved the sound of her voice, but now, he realized sourly, he would never hear it again. His expressionless face twisted into one of hate and contempt. This was their fault, this stupid world with its stupid people that just couldn't seem to get anything right. If they hadn't stopped believing and enjoying the autumn season, she might still be here, he wouldn't have had to go out and try to bring her back, and he wouldn't have had to fight that stupid sandman.

Sandy…this was his fault to. If he had just left well enough alone then maybe he could have saved her, she would still be alive, reading to him, singing to him. And what about the other spirits? If North or Manny had been so powerful why hadn't they come to help? Why would he sit back and let this happen? And then he thought back to what Autumn had said, her dying words. She sacrificed herself, because if he had killed Sandy, it would have changed him, but he didn't kill Sandy, he killed her. She wasn't sacrificed; she was murdered, by his own hand. No, he wasn't the one that killed her, the world had by not believing. Sandy had, by interfering, and every other spirit that was capable but had not lifted a finger to help her, they were responsible to. He had loved her, and you don't kill someone you love, it wasn't his fault! So now, he decided, he had nothing else to lose, it was time for everyone to pay back their debt to her, and he would make sure they paid in full.

Gently laying her still form onto the ground he stood, knees creaking from the lack of use in the last few hours. And stepping around her he summoned up his black sand and willed it to take shape. Twisting and swirling it formed into what looked like a large casket as it took shape and solidified. And gently he lifted his lost love from the ground and placed her inside the black casket of sand, and leaning down to kiss her forehead one last time he whispered a soft goodbye before shutting the lid and letting the black sand engulf her as it began to swirl and move again around her. There was magic in this sand, it would preserve her, keeping the autumn spirit whole for eternity, her beauty would never fade, he made sure of it.

He stood there, trying desperately to find the will to move his feet and leave. He felt a tug at his heart and knots in his stomach. He didn't want to leave her, once he did that would be it, she would officially be gone forever. But he had to carry out her vengeance; he had to punish the world for what they had done to her. So with a heavy heart, he turned and took his first step forward towards the door out of the home they had shared for so long, and into the waiting world as tears slid silently down his face for the last time.

* * *

North, a large tattooed man clothed in red with a long white beard hanging down just past his large belly, stood in front of the giant globe in the middle of his workshop. His normally jolly face was grave as three other spirits stood around him, confusion written on two out of three faces.

"Man in moon has summoned you," he began in a thick Russian accent glancing up at the moon shining brightly through the squared hole in the ceiling, "Sandy brings grave news today. You both know Autumn Spirit?" a colorfully feathered Tooth fairy and annoyed looking giant rabbit both nodded their heads.

"Of course, isn't she the sweetest!?" Tooth said with a chipper tone. North hung his head and Sandy turned away, Tooth's smile fell, "What's happened?" she asked softly.

North turned his face back to her, "She is no longer with us…she died…" Tooth gasped covering her mouth with her hand in disbelief as she dropped to the ground and her eyes began to tear up. Bunny looked angry, "What!?" he demanded with a heavy Australian accent, "What do you mean she died? How!?" Bunny had met Autumn a few times throughout the centuries, and she always seemed to make a lasting impression on him, and despite being his seasonal opposite, she was very kind to him, and fascinated by spring. She had told him once that the autumn season represented the coming of death, while the spring brought new life. She said it was through the cycle of life, of death and rebirth, that spring and autumn worked together.

North closed his eyes and sighed, "It was accident, she and Sandy were looking for Pitch-"

"Pitch?...Pitch Black?" Bunny interrupted, "You mean that scrawny little fear spirit that was always trailing on her heals?" North nodded.

"Autumn got sick cause no one believed in her season anymore; Pitch went crazy and terrorized villages. Sandy tried stopping him, but Pitch was too strong and almost killed him. But Autumn…brave Autumn took blow and saved Sandy's life. She didn't want Pitch to sink so low, but…I'm afraid her death had opposite effect. Pitch as lost his mind. That is why Man in Moon called you. Pitch has been out there, spreading fear and misery everywhere he steps foot, he is out of control." North, again, turned his gaze upwards to the moon.

"What…What has he done?" Tooth asked, fearful of the answer and holding back sobs at the news of her friend's death.

North shook his head dejectedly, "His mind is gone, he goes all over world turning Sandy's dreams to nightmares, spreading fear, making people miserable. I suspect he's doing in vengeance, he's powerful now, people can see him, and the frightened children now call him 'Boogeyman'."

"So what does the Man in the Moon want us to do about it? If he's that strong what could we possibly do?" Bunny interjected, attempting to comfort a now sobbing Tooth.

"First…we mourn loss of Autumn," he placed a large hand on Tooth's shoulder, "Then, we must band together with seasons; Christmas, Easter, dreams and such. Man in Moon has named us Guardians. We must bring hope, wonder and joy back into the world through children. They are strongest believers. And when we succeed, Pitch becomes weak again because of no fear. We will end dark ages and with it, end Pitch's terror. " A long silence descended on the group as they took in this new information.

"I'll do it…" said Tooth after finally calming down, "Not just for the children, but for Autumn, she wouldn't want Pitch to continue on this way."

"Me to, mate. Count me in." Bunny agreed. And Sandy nodded.

"Agreed, Come then, we have much work to do." He spoke gravely as he led the others out and into the workshop.

* * *

It was dark, and warm, the darkness that swirled around her like smoke was so familiar as she floated through it. She was tired and she couldn't open her eyes, she didn't even want to try, she was comfortable. She couldn't remember anything, not even her name, but she was okay with that, as long as she could stay just like she was. Something, though, was pulling at her heart, something familiar, and she fought it, whatever it was, it could wait. And then, a soft voice, gently calling, she didn't know what it was saying, but it was gentle and peaceful, she wanted to hear it again. Quietly and with a raspy voice, she called out gently.

"Who are you?" she waited, hoping the voice would respond, she longed for the comfort it brought. And to her delight, it softly responded.

"That's not the question, is it?" its voice echoed through the darkness, "The real question, my girl, is; who are you? And why are you here?"

She was sad, was she trespassing? "Am I not supposed to be here?" she spoke a little more clearly, "I'm so comfortable and warm. Please don't make me leave." She pleaded, frightened. The warm voice chuckled softly.

"I won't make you leave; it's not time for you to wake up yet. But you will when you are ready…"

She frowned, confused, "When will I be ready?" the voice was silent for a moment before responding.

"You will be ready, when you remember who you are, and why you're here. No sooner, no later..." She could hear the kindness in his voice.

"How do I do that?" she questioned, finding herself getting sleepy again.

"When you're ready, you will know…Who are you?…Autumn…" and the voice faded away, back into the darkness.

Autumn…why was that name so familiar? She had heard it somewhere before, maybe if she fell asleep again, she would dream about it. Silently agreeing that's what she would do, she felt her consciousness slowly drift away from her, back into the darkness.

* * *

_**A couple of years later…**_

"It's over Pitch! You've lost," Bunny shouted at the broken spirit of fear backing up into the night at the realization that his power was gone, terrified that a child had just ran right through him. North stepped forward, sheathing his swords.

"It's been long time. Go home, Pitch. Mourn your loss, live for her and let it go." North tried to reason with him.

"NO! You haven't seen the last of me! I refuse to sit by and not be believed in, it's a disgrace to her memory!" he yelled back, wild panic evident in his voice.

"No mate, what you've done is a disgrace to her memory. You know she didn't want this!" Bunny was getting angry again, clutching his boomerangs in both paws.

"How dare you! You weren't even there when she died, you weren't there to help her when she needed you, don't you dare tell me what disgraces her memory! She wanted me to be happy, and I was. Fear made me happy, and you destroyed it!" Pitch was livid, he was insane, his view of reality had been distorted.

"Enough!" bellowed a frustrated, North. "Leave, Pitch, while you still have chance." North's eyes were dark, and to a powerless Pitch, very intimidating. Scowling and spitting at the ground in front of the four newly appointed guardians feet, he turned and ran. Not to be seen again for a few hundred years…

North turned to the other three and sighed, "It's over, we won. Light has been restored to the world."

Tooth, who had been hovering just above the ground, landed on her feet, "I only wish Autumn could have been here to see it," she whispered, "Belief is back, she probably would have gotten better by now…" Bunny placed a paw on her shoulder in comfort. And Sandy conjured up a sandy butterfly fluttering about the top of his head in a circle.

"I know, mate. I miss her to" bunny spoke softly.

North smiled gently, "She would be proud, she was proud of all of us, even Pitch…to the end."

Nodding their heads in agreement they made their way back into North's sleigh and headed back to the north pole with a job well done.

* * *

She was restless, she had been sleeping for so long and she didn't want to sleep anymore. Nothing the mysterious voice told her made sense. She had dreams at first, fragments of people and places. One person that stuck out the most was a tall dark man with grey skin and yellow eyes. She didn't know who he was, and she had no idea how the name 'Autumn' pertained to him, but the curiosity was eating at her. She wanted to find out who he was, but first she had to figure out how to wake up.

And finally, after so long, like a miracle there it was again, "You're already awake; just open your eyes…"

And she did, and she was disappointed, all she saw was darkness, a black swirl of nothing that surrounded her floating form. "Why can't I see anything?" she wondered aloud.

"It's been so long," he replied, "Have you remembered who you are yet?"

She sighed, "No, I haven't, I want to get out of here, I won't remember anything as long as I'm stuck in here" she complained.

The soft voice chuckled, "And why is that?"

"Because!" she shouted, becoming irritated, "I can't see anything! Its Pitch Bla-" she stopped mid-sentence. That name, she knew it, "Pitch…Pitch Black…How do I know that name?" and then pieces of her dream came floating back to her. The dark man with the yellow eyes; that was his name! Pitch Black! And taking her by surprise, tears began forming in her eyes as she cried softly.

"Pitch? I remember him…my Pitch, my best friend. I remember our home in the woods. I remember the walks we took and the lessons we learned together and the friends we made in Sandy and Tooth and the others!" through her tears she smiled a wide grin from ear to ear.

"So you remember then…Autumn? Are you ready to go home?" the voice whispered back

She paused, Autumn, that was her name. She was the spirit of Autumn, and now, it was finally time for her to wake up. She had a job to do.

"Yes, I remember, I'm Autumn, the spirit of the autumn season. And I remember who you are to…Man in the Moon…" As soon as the words left her mouth light came flooding into her vision, swirling and taking shape, making her dizzy. And with a jolt she sprung upwards into a sitting position, desperately trying to catch her breath, as though she hadn't been breathing before. And when she had finally relaxed, and her dizzy spell subsided, she looked around. She recognized this room, it was dark, and the fire that normally crackled in the fireplace had long since turned to ash. Her bookshelf was covered in dust and cobwebs, and the vines growing on the outside of the tree house had made their way inside through the cracks in the walls along with the sunlight and slide their way down the walls and onto the floor, which was also covered in a layer of dust. Beneath her hand she felt something grainy, and picking up a handful of whatever it was she studied it closely. It was sand…black sand, and she was sitting in a whole pile of it on the floor. But where was Pitch? And then her very last memories came flooding back to her.

She had died…again. Or at least she and everyone else thought she had. Dropping the sand back into the pile she pressed her hand to her chest and felt the raised skin of a large scar shaped diagonally across her chest, from her collarbone to right over her heart. She closed her eyes, trying to put the memories of that horrible night behind her and focus on finding pitch.

On wobbly legs she stood, flapping her butterfly like wings to help lift her into the air. Wait a minute…she was flying? In shock she dropped herself back onto the ground with a loud thud. The last time she checked she had no magic and she couldn't fly. Had fall been restored? How long had she been asleep for? She guessed the cobwebs and dusty vines were a good clue. Using her wings once again to lift her up so she could stand, she finally regained her balance, and slowly but steadily she made her wait out the door and into her forest. And with that first step outside, once again she found herself back on her but on the ground…the icy ground? Since when had it ever snowed in the Autumn forest. Something was definitely up, and she was determined to figure out what it was. And carefully, using the door as leverage, she stood back onto her feet. That is until someone decided to get her attention.

"Hey! You okay?" Came the loud playful voice of a stranger, and instantly she was back on her butt again.

"Whoa there, take it easy. It's almost like you've never seen ice before" the voice giggled at her. And looking up to find out where the mischievous little voice was coming from, she gasped and stumble/slid backwards away from the upside down face of a white haired boy hanging in the air right in front of her face. Laughing he turned himself upright and held out a hand to her.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "Didn't mean to scare you." Obviously he did.

Taking his hand, grateful for the help, she stood and finally got a good look at him. He was a young boy, about the same age she had been when she became the spirit of autumn. He had snow white hair and icy blue eyes, his skin was whiter then hers and he wore a light blue hoodie that looked like it was covered in frost, and dark brown pants. And for some reason, he was barefoot; he didn't seem to mind the ice. In his right hand was what looked like a shepherd's crook, only it was covered in frost.

"The names Jack, Jack Frost." He beamed at her rather proudly.

Without letting go of his hand to keep her balance, she gave him a small smile, "My names Autumn, and let me guess, you're the spirit of winter?" she giggled.

Smiling sheepishly he nodded, "And you must be a spirit of Autumn, judging by your clothes and the pretty wings on your back. Anyway you must be new, I've never seen you before."

She was new? That couldn't be possible; SHE had never seen HIM before. "Well Jack, I've been around for a long time, you must be the one that's new."

"Ha" he laughed loudly, "I've been around for three hundred years lady, I don't know where you've been, but I've always been right here."

Wait…What? Three hundred years? had she been asleep that long? Where was Pitch, where were the others? Why hadn't they come looking for her by now? What was going on?! Suddenly she wasn't feeling to well.

"Hey, are you okay? You look kinda-Whoa!" He had to drop his crook to catch her just in time as she collapsed again. She was dizzy, she was nauseous, she had to find everyone.

"Why don't I take you back into your house…tree…thingy. You don't look too good."

Autumn shook her head a little too hard, clutching onto the sleeve of his hoodie. "I can't stay; I don't have time to explain everything. I have to find North and Sandy. I have to find out what's happened!"

"Hey slow down," Jack was confused, "I don't know what's going on, but I know where North lives. Been trying to bust into the North Pole for years" he chuckled to himself. "If you promise to just sit for a few minutes and calm down, I promise I'll take you to see North."

Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, she nodded as he led her back inside her home. But she couldn't shake the feeling something was off. Where was Pitch? When she found North and Sandy, she was sure they would explain everything to her.

* * *

**_To be Continued in Ch5_**

**_Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed. I've had so many ideas in my head I can't seem to keep up. I'm not sure whats going to happen in the next chapter yet, but I know its gonna be good. Also, I'm open to any suggestions that anyone may have for my story. I would like to keep it going for a while so just wright a review or PM me and I'll look over your ideas and give it some thought. I'll have the next chapter out sometime in the next day or two so stay tuned, and thanks for reading!_**


	6. The Helpful Snowman

_**The Helpful Snowman**_

"How you holding up back there?" Jack called behind him to an exhausted Autumn. They were flying through cold wind and snow, and Autumn hadn't flown in so long it was wearing her out quick. She was so focused on trying to stay in the air and keep herself warm, all she could manage was a small nod and right now she felt a little envious of the winter spirit that wasn't bothered by the cold in the slightest.

Jack chuckled to himself, "Were almost there. Look, you can see the pole straight ahead on the horizon."

"Don't laugh at me you midget snowman!" She retorted playfully. Jack snorted, "Is that the best you can come up with? I'm not that much shorter than you!" he laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Autumn was relieved as Jack flew downwards towards the ground as they drew closer to North's home. She could see the yeti's running to and fro, panicking at the intruders, and when they reached the entrance a rather large yeti approached them, his attention focused on Jack, grumbling and fussing at him in gibberish. Autumn recognized him and stifled a laugh catching the yeti's attention, and once he saw her he stopped fussing and just stared, awkwardly, Autumn was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable and nervously waved a hand at him.

"Hey Phil, long time no see eh?" she joked. And shaking his hairy head wildly he turned arms flailing in the air yelling in gibberish again at the top of his lungs as he ran back to the entrance door and disappeared inside. Jack gave her a slightly amused yet bewildered look, and shaking his head he followed in the direction Phil had ran before the doors closed on them as Autumn timidly followed behind.

As they trailed behind the rather upset yeti that was Phil, Autumn kept bumping into Jack when he slowed to a stop to look around. Apparently he had never been inside before and he was fascinated. Autumn however, had been here before once or twice, however long ago, it was just like she remembered. Finally they stopped walking, having followed Phil into a big room with a giant slowly rotating globe covered in tiny yellow lights. Phil, having finally calmed down, motioned for them to wait here and turned to leave, eying Jack suspiciously. Jack chuckled and turned to look at the giant globe.

"I wonder what those lights are?" he wondered aloud as Autumn shrugged.

"Since when have you been interested in the world, Jack" Came a booming accented voice that made both Jack and Autumn jump. Jack smiled playfully.

"Can't a guy be a little curious?" he teased and North chuckled, he didn't seem to notice Autumn yet.

"Yes, but not you. So yeti's finally let you in, eh? Must be really important, or really bad, what can I do?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, believe it or not, I didn't do anything this time. It's not really me that wants to see you" Jack stepped to the side to reveal Autumn, "It's my friend, she asked for you."

North glanced her way and froze, eyes wide, unable to believe what he was seeing, which was saying a lot for him considering he was Santa Clause, the Guardian of Wonder. Autumn smiled sheepishly and waved, "Hey North, I would say it's been a while, but I don't know exactly how long it's been." She teased trying to lighten the situation a bit. It didn't work. North just stared, and finally he took slow heavy steps in her direction.

"Uh, am I missing something?" Jack was horribly confused as he stepped backwards out of North's way before he was trampled.

"Can it be? …but it is! But it can't be! But you're here!" North stood in front of her now, stumbling over his words, babbling to himself, which sounded a little funny with his thick Russian accent. "You died! How are you here!?"

Autumn sighed to herself, she didn't know either, she couldn't explain it, one moment she was in the forest, dying in Pitch's arms, and the next she was sitting in a pile of black sand in her home. She shrugged her shoulders and hung her head, and before she realized what was going on she was engulfed in a bear hug and lifted off the ground. North was hugging her so tight she almost couldn't breathe.

"North!" she managed to choke out, "I missed you too but I can't breathe! Can you put me down and tell me what happened?

Setting her down gently his face went dark, and Autumn felt knots form themselves uninvited into her stomach. "Hang on a second," interrupted a frustrated Jack, "Before you two start catching up, you wanna let me in on what's going on? Still kinda in the dark over here."

North turned to look at Autumn holding his hand out towards Jack, signaling her to tell her story. Autumn sighed, and took a deep breath. "It started a long time ago, Jack. To be honest, I'm over five hundred years old…well…according to you I'm probably over eight hundred years old now, but I'm not sure. I used to be the Spirit of the Autumn season, hopefully, I still am. Do you know Pitch Black?"

"Pitch?" Jack was still confused, "You mean the Boogeyman?"

It was Autumns turn to be confused as she looked over at North searching for answers. North just shook his head. "I will explain shortly, continue." The knots in Autumns stomach grew, she had a really bad feeling.

"Anyway," she continued on facing back to Jack, "Pitch and I were best friends. We lived together for a long time until the dark ages. I got really sick when people stopped believing in my season. Pitch tried to bring back the season through fear to save me, but he went too far. Sandy tried to stop him but Pitch had become too powerful, he was going to kill Sandy. But I jumped in the way and, well, I died…or…at least I should have. The last thing I remember was that horrible night, then I woke up back in my home and that's when I met you. I don't know what happened between then and now, or why I'm even still alive."

It was North's turn to speak up, "You sacrificed to protect Sandy, and keep Pitch from evil. But it did not work, Autumn. It had opposite effect; he went mad and punished the whole world. Man in moon called me, Sandy, Bunny and Tooth to be Guardians and stop Pitch. We did, but we never saw Pitch again. You have been gone for very long time, Autumn…centuries… and the world has changed. Autumn season has been restored for a long time. Maybe that is why you are here now?"

Autumn was silent; she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Pitch had fallen, she had failed him. She promised him once a long time ago that she would always be there and she wasn't. This was her fault; she had to find a way to help him…if she could ever find him again that is. Her heart lurched at the thought of him being gone forever, but that must have been how he had felt when she 'died' and her guilt intensified.

North frowned at the expression on her face, "I know that look, Autumn. Don't blame yourself, you did what you could." Autumn managed a small smile and nodded.

"So you're telling me that Pitch Black, the boogeyman, wasn't always…well…a jerk?" Jack almost didn't believe it. His whole three hundred years of existence he had known Pitch was a pretty horrible guy. Autumn nodded and flinched at the unbelieving expression on Jack's face. But she couldn't blame him; she knew what Pitch was capable of.

"North? If we could find Pitch and show him that I'm still alive. Do you think it will snap him out of it?" she was almost hopeful until North shook his head sadly.

"The night you 'died', Pitch's mind snapped. He won't recover from trauma so easily. If he sees you, he could write you off as illusion, or think we were playing tricks and become angry. Unless we find way to convince him you are alive and real, it would be like rubbing salt in wound. On top of that," he shrugged, "don't know where he is."

Autumn fought back tears, so there really was no hope for Pitch. "So…what do I do now?" she whispered. North smiled and placed a large hand on her shoulder.

"First, we tell everyone you're alive. Then…" he glanced over at Jack who had been standing out of the way feeling a bit awkward and out of place. "I say, you go home with Jack!"

"What!" both Jack and Autumn shouted in unison. "What makes you think I want to go home with her!?" Jack almost shouted, and then turned to her "No offense" he said almost offensively. She nodded her head, not really sure how to take that.

"Jack you are trouble maker; always trying to break in the Pole, making blizzards on Easter. But you are also fun, and distraction is what Autumn needs right now, at least until we can find way to make Pitch believe in her. And I'm not sending her home by herself." North winked at her, making her deliberately uncomfortable.

"Fine," Jack sighed, to Autumn's surprise, "But you owe me big time!" North laughed a hearty laughed and nodded. Leaning in North whispered in Jacks ear, "Keep close eye on her." Jack was confused, was he babysitting? He doubted she needed one; she was over eight hundred years old for crying out loud...

* * *

"North! Why are we here, mate?" grumbled an annoyed Bunny as he hopped his way into North's back office behind the globe. Tooth and Sandy were right behind him, both curious as to why they had been summoned. "Aw, why is HE here North!?" Bunny pointed at Jack who he had spotted trying to stay out of the way, for once, in the corner.

"We have special news…shocking news." North began only to be interrupted by Bunny.

"What, from him!?" Bunny pointed his paw at Jack again. "Any news coming from him can't be good news." Bunny laughed at his own joke. Scowling, Jack went to retort but North interrupted. "We are not here for Jack, we are here for someone else." North turned his head to Jack who nodded back and left the room. "You might want to brace yourselves…This may get…emotional…" North looked down, directly at Sandy, who gazed up at him in return, forming a question mark of sand over his head.

Right on queue Jack walked back in with Autumn trailing slowly behind him nervously. Silence descended in the room. No one said a word, barely breathed. Tooth stopped her flitting about and landed on her feet, jaw dropped. Bunny quit his fidgeting and gaped at her. And Sandman's sand made question mark dropped, falling right on his head and poofing into a cloud of dust. He, out of all of them, was the most shocked, he had watched her die, what he was seeing couldn't possibly be real. He must have accidently inhaled his dream sand.

Autumn held back a giggle at the cloud of sand dissipating above Sandy's head. Opting instead for a small smile and a nervous wave of her hand.

"Hey everyone," she spoke softly. Before she had a chance to say anymore, she was tackled backwards onto the ground by a sobbing Tooth fairy. Gently hugging her back, Autumn smiled, glad she had been missed.

"You were dead!" Tooth sobbed into Autumns hair. "You were dead and I missed you so much! All these years! Where have you been?" bringing herself and the clinging tooth up into a sitting position, she gently pulled Tooth off of her and held onto her shoulders to look at her face, wiping away the Tooth's tears with her thumb, "I missed you to, Tooth. As for where I've been, I don't know. Were still trying to figure that part out, all I know is that I woke up yesterday in my home and found out through Jack that I'm missing over three hundred years."

"So you don't know what happened," questioned Bunny, "You just woke up all the sudden, centuries later, alive and without a scratch?" Bunny was a little angry. Angry that Autumn had the audacity to just die, leaving a trail of tears behind her, only to show up out of the blue later. He was angry that he hadn't been there to protect her and prevent her death. But most of all, he was angry that she was here and he felt ashamed, he didn't know what to say to her, he wanted to tell her how sorry he was, but he didn't know how to start.

Autumn shook her head, "Not without a scratch," She moved her long auburn shaded hair back behind her, revealing the long scar on her chest. Tooth gasped as more tears slid down her face. Autumn looked back up to Bunny and recognizing the look on his face, she shook her head. "Don't do that Bunny. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault, it was an accident."

Bunny scowled, "An accident that could have been prevented if-"

"If I had been more careful," Autumn interrupted, "I was responsible for Pitch. Not you or anyone else, don't blame yourself for my failure." She had never sounded so commanding in all her years, she was surprised at the strength that came from her voice.

"Autumn, you didn't-" North began, but Autumn interrupted again, "It's alright North, everything is going to be alright now. I promise, I'm not going to give up on Pitch, I don't care how far he's fallen."

A glimmer of gold caught her attention as Sandy moved slowly towards her, shock still evident on his face. Tooth stood and stepped aside so Sandy could stand in front of Autumn who was still kneeling on the floor at Sandy's eye level. His gaze traveled down as he reached a small hand up and gently placed it on the scar marring her otherwise flawless pale skin.

"Sandy," Autumn began, she didn't know what to say. He had been there that horrible night. He had been the one she saved, if she hadn't been there that night, then he wouldn't be here today. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Sandy. I'm sorry you had to see. I'm sorry for causing you trouble, and any pain you might have felt." The tears were flowing slowly down her white cheeks now. "I'm sorry for that horrible night and for dragging you into it." But before she could say another word, Sandy shushed her with a hand over her mouth and then pointed upwards towards his head. There, fluttering without a sound about his head was a tiny golden butterfly. That was her trademark, courtesy of Sandman, he always used a butterfly when referring to her.

Nodding in understanding, she whispered, "I missed you to, old friend." And hugged him gently, happy to be reunited with her friends, and happy they knew she was alive now. North was behind her then, kneeling down and embracing her and Sandy in a hug with a grin on his face. Bunny and Tooth followed suit, kneeling down to the floor and hugging Autumn tight in a group hug to welcome her home.

Jack stood in the corner, feeling a little out of place, and sort of lonely, until Autumn turned her stunning yellow eyes up towards him, a small smile on her face as she reached out her hand for his. Hesitating and scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he finally decided to take her hand, and blushed when she squeezed his hand and mouthed the words 'Thank You, Snowman', silently to him. She was so kind, he decided he couldn't wait to head back to her home with her; he wanted to know more about her and why she was so kind after all she had gone through, how she could still laugh and why she wasn't angry like he would have been. And he wanted to find out why her smile made the normally chilly winter spirit feel so warm.

* * *

_**This one was a little shorter then I wanted it to be. But don't worry, I'm still plotting away behind the scenes. **_

_**More to come in Chapter 6**_


	7. The Lonely Road

_**The Lonely Road**_

The sky was a light grey, and snowflakes falling gently made their way down from the clouds and melted as they collided with the warm foggy window. Autumn sat behind the glass on the window sill lost in her thoughts, trying to sort everything out. Her mind was a big jumble right now, she couldn't think straight and it was starting to give her a headache. Still, she waited patiently for Jack, she was ready to head back to her home and start planning on how to find Pitch and what she was going to do once she found him. She squeaked and jumped a foot in the air as a large hand clamped down on her shoulder. Putting a hand on her chest to calm her rapid heartbeat, she turned to see North giving her a goofy grin.

"Come, we have made discovery you need to hear. Sandy might know why you're alive."

Autumns felt butterflies in her stomach; at least they were making progress. She quietly followed North back into the room with the large spinning globe where everyone stood waiting for her. North was the first person to speak up.

"You say you woke up in pile of black sand, eh?" Autumn nodded, confused, "When Sandy touched your scar earlier, he found black sand on his hand. Might we take look to see if there is more sand?"

Still a little confused, Autumn nodded and pulled her soft hair back behind her and bent down to Sandy's level as he approached her. Autumn couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed at the mark on her chest as Sandy examined it closely, running a tiny finger across the length of the scar he squinted at his hand for a better look. Holding out his hand to the others he pointed to show them the small black specks he had found. Turning to North, images of sand began to flash above his head faster than Autumn could even dare to keep up with. North, though, seemed to understand as he pulled on his beard and nodded his head. And after a while he finally spoke.

"Hmm, Very interesting." He turned to Autumn, "Sandy says black sand is unusual. Has extra magical properties of preservation. He says on night you died, Pitch took you away. And since you woke up in pile of black sand, he must have encased you in it, like coffin or something." Autumn felt her heart drop into her stomach. Poor Pitch, he had to be the one to 'bury' her, how could she have been so careless.

"Sandy also says he thinks black sand might have saved your life. Since it was magic sand, it preserved you and kept you alive…sleeping. Over time, wound healed, and you stayed sleeping till autumn season was restored, then you get better and wake up!"

That would make sense, but did it really take over three hundred years for the autumn season to be restored? And if this was all true, then Pitch was the one that saved her life, and he didn't even know it. Just maybe, if she could find him, she could use that information to help him.

"Are you sure, Sandy" Autumn turned to him, and Sandy shook his head vigorously. Well, he was the sandman after all, and no one knew the magical properties of sand better than him.

"This is great guys, thank you for figuring this out for me, I don't know where I'd be without you all" Autumn smiled kindly, but her smile was forced. She was still sad, she was still confused. She had still lost over three hundred plus years of her life and she didn't know where Pitch was. But everyone had been so helpful and she didn't want to worry them more. So with a brave smile still in place she looked towards Jack.

"I think it's time for me to head home. There's a lot I need to do. Jack if you're still up to it. You're more than welcome to come with me." Honestly, she wanted to go home by herself, she wanted to be alone for a while, but she had promised North.

"Yea," Jack replied boredly, "Let's get going"

"You remember way out, Autumn?" North inquired politely. She nodded and turned to head out of the factory with Jack trailing behind her…

"Does anyone else get the feeling there's something a bit off with Autumn?" Tooth asked, concern lacing her voice. Bunny and Sandy nodded in return.

"That is why I sent Jack with her. Autumn is not used to being alone anymore. On top of missing centuries, and with Pitch missing, she is going to have very hard time. It is not good for her to be alone now. She has very bad guilty habit. I've known her for long time now, she's quick to forgive others, but in turn, tries to carry the world on shoulders." North spoke wisely, knowing exactly what Autumn was capable of.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" asked Bunny, trying not to let on he was a little worried. North shrugged. "Only time tells. We must decide now whether or not to find Pitch."

"But Pitch went out with the dark ages, mate. There's no telling where he is or if he's even still alive." Bunny, of course, was skeptical. "And say we were to find him, how do we know we can even change him? What if we just wind up pissin him off instead?"

"But that's what we have to decide," Tooth finally piped up, "Can we do this for Autumn's sake? Or is it better to leave well enough alone?"

"I think," North continued, "We need to have meeting with Man in Moon." The others nodded their heads quietly in agreement.

* * *

Autumn walked slowly along the icy path through what used to be her autumn forest. She was barefoot like she always was, but her mind was too far out of it care about the cold, ignoring the frostbite on her feet. She could fly, but for some reason she just didn't feel like it. All she wanted to do was walk and think quietly to herself. But that was not in the cards for her it seemed, as a very loud and mischievous winter spirit trailed behind her, floating lazily in the air.

"So, uh, why aren't you flying?" he asked for the 10th time since they reached her forest. Autumn was hit with a wave of nostalgia and she felt sick. Pitch had asked her the exact same thing when they first met, and in the exact same place they were standing now.

"Because," she whispered back, remembering what she had said to Pitch, "Were already here." She looked up and gazed at her home. The archway of trees had long since begun to wither. Only the over sized, twisting oak tree that was her home was left, surrounded by other trees covered in frost and snow and dripping with icicles.

"Oh yea," Jack said playfully, "I forgot, your home tree thingy is the only tree that doesn't stay cold." And he was right, out of all the other frost bitten trees surrounding it, her tree retained its warmth. There must have been some magic left in it.

"Jack will you do me a favor," she began dully. Jack was a little surprised at the tone in her voice. Since he met her she had been nothing but kind and friendly. Now she sounded tired, and kind of annoyed. He silently wondered what was going on in her head. Regardless he nodded in agreement.

"I'm a little tired; I guess my magic hasn't completely returned just yet. I'm going to go inside and rest for a little bit. Will you let me sleep for a little while? I promise I'll keep you better entertained when I wake up." She was lying, she wasn't tired in the slightest, she had too much on her mind. She just wanted to have some quiet time to herself. Sensing something wasn't right; Jack nodded, beginning to understand why North had sent him home with her.

"In the meantime, there are some old books you can read if you'd like. You saw inside before, there's not really much." Pushing open the door she made her way inside, glancing at the pile of black sand that she didn't have the heart to clean up. She made her way over to her corner by the bookshelf and picked up her old blankets and pillow and started beating off the dust and cobwebs before settling herself down on the hard oak floor and turning herself away from Jack so he wouldn't see she wasn't actually sleeping.

A bit worried, but taking the hint, Jack browsed through her selection of books before picking one, dusting it off and placing himself by the old rundown fireplace, grateful for the cracks in the walls and ceiling that let the light in so he could read. For some reason she didn't have any windows.

Meanwhile Autumn's mind was racing, it was like a thousand thoughts flying through her head at once and she couldn't keep up. She felt tears threatening to form, burning her eyes, but she fought them. She didn't want Jack to see or hear her break down. She felt like she had to stay strong. This was her fault after all, and she had to be the one to fix it. Memories of her and Pitch together threatened to invade her mind but she fought them to. If she started reminiscing, then she really wouldn't be able to hold back the tears. And finally she did start to feel a little bit sleepy, and her eyes began to close themselves, shutting out the rest of the world, if only just for a while.

* * *

It was dark wherever she was, and there were whispers all around her. Voices echoed softly from every direction as Autumn twisted and turned, golden eyes searching the blackness trying to find where the voices were coming from, or at least understand what they were saying. And then there was a voice so loud and clear and painfully familiar she almost couldn't stand it.

"Look what you've done, Autumn…you stupid girl." It was Pitch's voice, "If you hadn't been so weak, so pathetic, I wouldn't have gone mad. You deserve everything that's happened to you!"

Autumn couldn't hold back the tears that were burning at her eyes, "I'm sorry, Pitch, this is my fault, I'm sorry I let you down. Will you please come home?" she begged.

"Ha," the voice hatefully echoed back, "Come home to you!? Don't make me laugh!" and then the voice changed, it morphed into a more feminine voice.

"How dare you expect him to return to you after what you've done!" Autumn was petrified, it was her voice. "He proclaimed his love to you, and how do you repay him? By bringing that winter spirit into the home you shared!" Her voice echoed around the darkness before morphing again into a familiar accented voice.

"You weak girl," it was Bunny's voice this time, "You slept for all this time while the people you loved fought each other. Pitch is gone because of your selfishness. I can't stand you!"

"NO!" Autumn sobbed as she felt to her knees holding her face in her hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Then every voice that had shouted at her, accusing her of betrayal began shouting all at the same time, calling her names, spitting hateful words at her. Autumn covered her ears and squinted her eyes shut, but it still didn't drown them out. And then, in the midst of the shouting came a small voice, slightly familiar. But this once wasn't full of malice like the others and it didn't echo and she could barely hear it over the others. It called out her name, softly at first, then becoming more and more desperate.

"Please," she cried, "Please leave me alone…"

* * *

"AUTUMN!"

Autumn jerked herself upwards into a sitting position. She had sweat running down the side of her face and her breathing was ragged. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused and she was shaking.

"Hey! Calm down and breathe, Okay? You were just having a nightmare." Jack was squatting in front of her, both hands on her shoulders trying to calm her down and a concerned expression on his face. Autumn turned her gaze upwards toward him and waited for her vision to come back into focus.

"Jack?" her voice quivered more then she would have liked it to. So…it was just a nightmare, but, it had truth in it, a truth she couldn't ignore.

"Yea," he responded, "I'm right here" he squeezed her shoulders in reassurance. Autumn shook her head gently. "You need to leave…" she said softly and a bit reluctantly. "What?" Jack was confused, "Why?" and a little hurt.

She suddenly found the dusty floor very interesting. "I'll only bring you trouble, Jack. You know what I did to Pitch. Step outside; you saw how well I took care of the Autumn forest. I wasn't even strong enough to keep the season of autumn alive when I had the chance. Just do yourself a favor and don't involve yourself in my situation. Bad things will happen to you if you do." Her tone had turned angry, she didn't mean for it to but if that's what it took to keep Jack from trouble then so be it.

"Give me a break," he responded lazily, letting go of her shoulders. Autumn was shocked, she looked up at him to see he had stood and was glaring down at her, his crook in one hand draped over his shoulder.

"I knew there had to be a good reason North sent me home with you... Look, you can't do that, don't blame yourself for other people's problem's, that's just stupid. It won't change the past and it won't bring Pitch back." His glare softened as he bent down back down to her eye level and took her hand in his.

"And don't try pushing me or anyone else away with that fake attitude you keep trying to pull, it's a very lonely road, trust me. A road you don't have to walk, you're too nice and the Guardians love you. They are your friends and so am I now, so get over it." Autumn was quiet, but she nodded, it was strange that he seemed to be able to look right through her. His playful smile was back in place now.

"Come on," he commanded pulling her up onto her feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Jacks smiled turned into a wide grin.

"To help you get your magic back of course!" Autumn smiled at his playfulness and followed him outside back into the cold. But somewhere in the back of her mind she felt a small tug, as though something was trying to remind her that she wasn't off the hook yet.

'I'm still here, stupid girl' it seemed to whisper to her consciousness. But she pushed back. A lonely road, Jack had said, well, that wasn't a road she wanted to discover, and it wasn't the road to Pitch.

* * *

_**Stay tuned for Chapter 7, kiddos. **_


	8. The Nightmare King

_**The Nightmare King**_

Somewhere in the forest, just outside the town of Burgess, set a decrepit old wooden bed frame on top of a large dirt tunnel in the ground. The tunnel was long and dark, and at the end of this tunnel was a large dark cavern, almost like an underground castle. Only a little light was able to make its way through the cavern walls and illuminate the stairs going up and down here and there, and the thin walkways that went from one side to the other. Hanging from the ceiling were dozens of large stone cages, and at the very center of this fortress there was a giant decrepit globe covered in small yellow lights.

And at the very top of the globe sat the dark boogeyman himself, lounging lazily with his chin propped up on a fist deep in thought. His sinister eyes gleamed from silver to gold in the darkened light, like an eclipse blocking out the sun. He wore a small frown on his ashen colored face as the voice in his head that had plagued him for centuries continued to plague him still. Despite his annoyance, however, he had come to rely on this voice; he didn't know where it came from, or why it was in his head, but it was always there to guide him, and remind him.

"_Have you awakened?_ _Do you remember who you are now, who you were before…Nightmare King_?" it hissed in his mind.

"Yes…"Pitch responded dully, thinking over his recently re-discovered memories.

"_Do you remember what they did to you and why you hate them?" _the voice was smooth, conniving, and knew just what to say to rile him up.

"Yes…" Pitch repeated a bit more harshly.

"_Do you see now why it was better that she died? Her death granted the return of your memories with my help. You are no lowly spirit. You are and have always been the King of Nightmares…Pitch Black, the fallen hero of the Golden Age."_ Pitch could hear the malice in its voice and he scowled.

"Be quiet! I warned you not talk about her death that way. You live in MY head, you obey MY rules." He demanded.

The voice laughed in response._ "That's what I want to hear! Welcome back, Nightmare King. Now, what are you going to do about the ones who cast you out and murdered your love?"_

Pitch's scowl turned into a sadistic grin, "Wait and see…" he hissed back to the voice.

* * *

About a year had gone by since Jack had returned home with Autumn and he stayed by her side as often as he could. But every once in a while he would begin to feel a bit restless and would take off for a day or two. Autumn completely understood, she had been kind of difficult to live with the past year. Ever since that first nightmare, she had been struggling on and off with her guilt, and Jack was always right there to pull her out her shame when she fell a little too far. Autumn still had the same nightmare every single night without fail, and it would always be Pitch's voice she heard the loudest, tearing her down, and it took a good month and a half and a lot of pushing from Jack before she finally told him what her nightmares were about. She figured she kind of owed it to him, he had been there every single night to watch over her, he was always there to wake her up when it got too bad, or to hold her when she woke up trembling in a cold sweat. Even on the days he became restless and would go off on his on for a while, he would always come back that night and leave the next morning when he was sure she was okay.

Despite all that, though, her magic was returning. Everyday Jack would take her outside and help her practice until her magic was returned in full. Though there were a couple times he threatened to stop helping her if she didn't stop calling him 'midget snowman'. His face would always turn red and he would argue back that he was only one inch shorter than her, to which she would giggle at and turn her attention back to practicing. When her magic returned completely the forest they lived in began to shed the ice and snow and the colorful leaves of fall were starting to grow back, much to Jacks discomfort. So Autumn had agreed that Jack could keep half of the forest to himself for winter, and the other half would remain in the autumn season.

One night, Autumn was sitting at the very top of the tallest tree in her forest, watching the stars and trying to keep her head clear. Jack had been gone since this morning, off somewhere doing who knows what like he usually does. She hoped he came back soon. There was only one night that he didn't come back for her, and when he had returned a day later, he found her huddled in the darkest corner of the room shaking with her head buried in her knees. Her nightmare that night had been severe, she had woken up screaming and refused to go back to sleep. Looking back on it now she felt ashamed. She had always considered herself a strong and independent young woman, even before she became the spirit of autumn. Despite the times she had lived in, her parents raised her in a cabin in the woods, where she could be free to grow strong and stand on her own. But after she had lost Pitch, she had been a wreck, and she was ashamed, and poor Jack didn't deserve to be burdened with her.

While she gazed up at who she knew was the man in the moon, a glimpse of bright colors against the blackened night sky caught her attention. It was Tooth, who was flitting as fast as she could towards Autumn, and that was pretty fast given her size, and finally reaching Autumn she landed on the branch next to where she was sitting.

"Hey Tooth, long time no see, what's going on" Autumn smiled at her.

Tooth smiled in response, "North sent me to get you, Jack is already at the factory, we have some big news."

Autumn nodded and she lifted off the tree as her large fiery colored wings fluttered and lifted her into the air and followed the Tooth fairy back to the North Pole.

* * *

"Autumn! Good to see you!" bellowed an overly excited North as he engulfed her in a bear hug before dropping her down to her feet. At least he didn't suffocate her this time.

"Hey everyone, what's going on?" She noticed Jack was on one side of the room, pouting in a corner, and Bunny was on the other, arms crossed with a satisfied smirk on his face, Sandy and Tooth seemed to be missing though. Autumn sighed, "What did you do this time, Jack"

"Nothing!," he fumed, "They want me to be a guardian..."

Autumn had to hold back a scoff, Jack? A guardian? Yea right, he wouldn't touch responsibility with a ten foot pole. But then again, she thought, he has a good heart, and he's taken good care of her, and if Manny chose him then there must be something pretty special about him.

"But that is not why we have called you" North interjected, his face turning serious. Jack was at her side then, placing a snow white hand gently on her shoulder, and the scowl on his face softened. Autumn gulped nervously.

"Pitch has shown himself…he's returned." North said softly.

Autumn's knees almost buckled beneath her, "Pitch…is alive? Where is he, I need to find him!" she was getting a little too excited and Jack's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"It's not good idea, Autumn, Pitch isn't the same that you knew. And it might be best that we take slow the situation. He doesn't know you are alive. We don't want opposite effect." North crossed his arms as he spoke.

He had a point, but how could she just sit and wait, hadn't he suffered enough? Before she could respond Sandy came bursting through the doors pointing back behind him with a tooth made of sand hanging over his head before shifting into the shape of a castle.

"Trouble at the Tooth Palace, North" Bunny stated the obvious following Sandy hurriedly out the door. North turned to her and Jack. "Autumn, stay here and safe, don't go anywhere till we get back. Jack, come with me."

Jacks had a shocked look on his face that made Autumn giggle, and argued with North that he didn't want to go, following him none the less , leaving Autumn to her own devices. Looking out the window, she noticed the sun had already risen, it was morning now and she hoped she didn't have to wait long. But still, it would give her some time to figure out how she was going to approach Pitch.

* * *

Autumn had spent most of the day and half the night wondering around North's factory trying to keep herself distracted. She helped the Yeti's with making Christmas toys, and entertained the elves, trying to keep them out of trouble. The others had been gone for way too long, she couldn't help but wondered if they had run into Pitch, or they had fought him. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, though, that something was wrong, and she silently prayed that they were alright, Pitch included.

And finally, after her excruciatingly long wait, they returned. And once she saw them her heart fell into her stomach. They looked tired and broken. Jack looked angry, she went to meet him to find out what was wrong, and the look he gave her made her stop in her tracks. His glare was fierce and full of hate.

"Jack-"she started but was interrupted as he pushed past her towards North's office, "Leave me alone!" He growled slamming the door behind him. Autumn was mortified, what had she done? Looking around at the others she noted their forlorn and heartbroken expressions, something wasn't right.

Looking around she noticed something, "Where's Sandy?" she asked a bit frightened at the answer. Bunny and Tooth looked away, and North approached her, putting a hand on her back, "Come with me," he said quietly, guiding her out of the room to find somewhere quiet…

Autumn couldn't stop sobbing. After North had explained what happened to the tooth palace and Sandy, he had left to give her some time. But not before making sure she knew it wasn't her fault. She had let him believe she didn't think it was, but really, she couldn't help it. She couldn't stop thinking about Sandy, her old friend, she should have been there to help him, like last time…The voices in her nightmares were right, and the people she loved were dying because of it. Jack hated her and she couldn't blame him.

'_I told you I was still here, stupid girl'_ came a familiar, sinister voice that echoed through her mind. Shaking her head she tried to ignore it.

'_That's not going to work, stupid girl, you can't get rid of me. Come along, you know what you have to do. He's waiting for you, and you know how to find him. I've been showing you how for a year now.'_

He knew she was talking about Pitch, and she gasped as realization dawned on her. The Nightmares! How could she have been so blind! Pitch had control over nightmares; maybe she could find a way to use her nightmares to bring him to her. It wasn't a pleasant idea, but she had to try. She couldn't let anymore of her friends die for her sake.

Forming a plan in her head, she made her way over to the nearest window, unlocking it and stepping up onto the sill. She looked behind her at the closed door that led to the factory.

"I'm sorry, everyone. But I'm not going to let you get hurt anymore." And throwing herself off of the sill, she spread her wings and took flight back to her home in the autumn forest.

* * *

Jack felt horrible, North had gone to speak with him about what happened, giving him words of encouragement for Sandy's death. And to remind him that Autumn was just as hurt as he was, maybe even more. When Pitch killed Sandy, he began to wonder how Autumn could ever try to stand up for that beast, and why she would even want to find him again. In a way he blamed her, just by being associated with him. Pitch had been her best friend; if he was that kind of monster, then what kind of person was she.

But North had been there to remind him that she was in pain to, that she had fought so hard to protect her friends and keep Pitch from his true nature. He reminded Jack of all the nightmares she had suffered through the year because of what she went through with Pitch. Jack felt guilty, he had to make up for the way he treated her. Once he calmed down he had North point him in the direction to where she was. But when he arrived and opened the door he was surprised to see that the room she had been in was empty, the only sign that she had been there was the window hanging open, swinging back in forth.

"Oh, crap" he muttered to himself before dashing out of the room to find everyone huddled by the believing globe, watching the lights flicker and die out.

"Autumns gone!" he shouted

"What?" North turned to him, "What do you mean she's gone?"

"She flew out the window, she just left!" Jack was in a panic, what the hell did she think she was trying to pull!

"But why would she leave?" Asked a worried Tooth.

"Because," North answered, "She thinks she can save Pitch. She doesn't know how bad he is. She'll make situation worse."

"I'm going back to the forest to see if she's there, meet me back there if you find anything!" Jack shouted taking off at full speed.

"Jack, wait!" North tried to stop him, but he had already flown, full speed, out the door. This was his fault; he shouldn't have left her alone.

* * *

Pitch couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. He was delighted at his recent victory. The Sandman was gone, and he had found someone to play with. A wicked grin grew on his face, this was going to be fun. Eagerly he started setting up the next stages of his plan when he felt a small, uncomfortable tug in the back of his mind. He made his way over to his globe and searched for where he felt the tug coming from and his grin fell when he found it. The autumn forest, his old home…where she was buried. But why would anyone be there?

Regardless, they were there, and they were having a particularly horrible nightmare…but they were tampering with it, how in the world was a sleeping person tampering with a nightmare? Unless they were trying to get his attention, which means it was either a guardian, or the humans were starting to believe in him. But why would they be there? He was starting to get angry; he had to figure this out so he could focus on finishing off those pesky guardians. Stepping backwards away from the globe he faded into the shadows to make his way back to his old home.

* * *

Autumn bolted upright, sweating and gasping for breath, tears running down her face. She had done it, she had gone into her nightmare and used every bit of magic in her to call for Pitch, it took all of her resolve to ignore the voices that always yelled and berated her. But she did it, and it had been terrifying, she couldn't shake how she had felt in the dream. Exposed, cold, alone and hated, she had heard Jack's voice to, though this time it wasn't to wake her up, his cold and hate filled words echoed through her mind and her heart, and for the first time in her centuries of existence, she had felt the sting of the lonely road Jack had warned her about. She had left the guardians behind to do this, but she had to, to protect them.

Bringing her knees to her chest she buried her face in them and closed her eyes, not that it did much good, it was already dark, and the only light was the sliver of moonlight through the cracks in the walls that barely illuminated her dark home. All she had to do now was wait to see if Pitch had heard her, and figure out what to do if he had.

She didn't have to wait long before a cold voice slithered into the darkness, echoing around the room.

"So I wasn't imagining things." It sneered, "Someone did have the audacity to enter this place." His dark form emerged from the shadows, and without looking up she could feel his harsh glare on her.

"Well, get to it," he demanded impatiently, "You called me here, I assume, and you've gotten my attention. And not in a good way, might I add. Go on, stop mopping about a stupid nightmare and tell me what you want!"

Autumn flinched, but quietly lifted her head and stood, stepping into the moonlight to illuminate her face so he could see. "…Hello, beloved." She whispered softly.

Pitch's hateful expression became one of shock; he was petrified at what he saw. Autumn, his Autumn was sitting there in the corner right in front of him…alive…But he had killed her, no, they had killed her. Yet here she was. Quickly looking behind him he saw the pile of black sand he had left behind scattered all over the floor, then turned back to look at her again, her golden eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"…It can't be…" he managed to choke out. She took a step towards him and frowned when he took a step back. He was trying so hard not to be frightened, he was the Nightmare King, he wasn't scared of anything, but tonight he was; he was terrified that this was all just and illusion.

'_That's exactly what it is!' _whispered that familiar snake like voice in his head, '_You watched her die in your arms; this is just a trick. The guardians are trying to get back at you for what you did. This is there sick form of justice.'_

Pitch's face went blank at those words, and Autumn felt her heart skip a beat…what was he thinking?

"What kind of trick is this?" he hissed, "Even for the Guardians this is a low blow. How dare you try to imitate her, how dare you trick me like this!" he was beyond angry, his eyes reflected all of the hate he felt and they gleamed with malice, and Autumn was frightened and hurt, he thought she was a trick…

"Pitch…Pitch please, it's me! I-" she pleaded but was cut off.

"Silence! I am the, Boogeyman! The Nightmare King! And you cannot fool me! I don't know how bad of a death wish you had by trying to pull this little stunt. But I'm about to grant your wish."

Summoning up is black sand into a large arrow, he pulled back on an invisible string, taking aim right at her. Autumn shut her eyes tight, she didn't have it in her to run, if this was her fate, then it's what she deserved.

Time seemed to slow as Pitch released the arrow, and bracing for the pain that she knew was coming she flinched when, instead, heard the sound of ice shattering against the floor at her feet. Opening her eyes she looked up and over to the open door to see Jack, crook in hand and pointing it right at Pitch.

"Are you stupid!" he shouted, "Are you really that blind, Pitch!?" he shot more ice out of his crook at Pitch who either side stepped or blocked with sand. Stepping back into the shadows is voice echoed throughout the room, "This isn't over, I'll make you all pay!" and then silence, he was gone.

Autumn couldn't take anymore, her legs were shaking so bad she fell onto her knees. Her expression was frozen in shock as the tears ran like rivers down her face. Jack was by her side in an instant, kneeling in front of her to check and see if she was hurt anywhere. He sighed in relief when he didn't see any damaged, but when he looked up at her face, his worry returned. Her face was blank now, no emotion, no expression, just dried tears, her eyes were glued to the floor.

"Autumn?" he asked a bit timidly, afraid his very breath could shatter her into pieces.

"…So…I really did fail…there's nothing I can do. He's…He's gone…and I'll never get him back…" Jack could hear it in her voice, her heart had been broken, shattered into pieces. And Jack really didn't know what to say, he wanted to take it all away and make it all better for her. But he couldn't.

Slowly, hesitantly, Jack reached out a hand to grab the back of her head, and when she didn't move or flinch away, he pulled her down into his chest, dropping his crook to embrace her with both arms and hold her tight, resting his chin on the top of her head.

It was cold, his embrace was like the icy winter wind, but she didn't care. The moment her face was buried in his chest she broke down. All of her guilt, and her pain, and her failure, all of the feelings she had forced back came flooding out in loud sobs as she reached up to clutch onto his hoodie so tight her knuckles turned whiter than they already were, if that was possible. Jack's hold on her tightened, he refused to let go till she got it all out. And for a very long time he stayed with her like that, until she was finally able to cry herself to sleep in his arms. He didn't move an inch, and after she fell asleep his composure fell. He was angry, furious even. How could you claim to love someone then turn around and hurt them as bad as Pitch had hurt Autumn.

Well, enough was enough, Jack decided. He wasn't going to allow Pitch to hurt her anymore, and he wouldn't ever forgive him. If Pitch ever changed, which he highly doubted, then he would have to do something pretty miraculous to prove himself before he ever allowed him back into Autumn's life. And if he was lucky, they would defeat Pitch, and he would disappear forever, and maybe Autumn could finally, finally, start over with a new life. Maybe even a new life with him, he dared to hope. Maybe…

* * *

**_So _****_I've been a little mean to Autumn, but don't worry, it always gets worse before it gets better_****_. I have picture of a version of Autumn that I made, but I can't seem to get the link to show up on here. So if you know your way around deviantart, then my DA name is 'lunapetti' if your interested just look me up and go to my gallery and click on 'Spirit of Autumn'.  
_**

**_And don't forget to stay tuned for Chapter 8, kiddos!_**


	9. Love and Pain

_**Love and Pain**_

Jack closed the large oaken door softly behind him, he sighed as he approached the guardians who had been waiting patiently outside Autumn's home. They had arrived shortly after Autumn had fallen asleep in Jack's arms. They had seen the frozen black sand and the damage done to her home and the dried tears on Autumn's sleeping face.

"How is she?" Tooth asked, concern lacing her voice.

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head, his usual playful smirk was gone, "Don't know, she's sleeping now. Guess we'll find out when she wakes up." He turned his head back to the door, where she lay sleeping inside, concern obvious on his face.

"Jack," North was at his side with a large hand on his shoulder, "What happened?"

Jack turned back to face the guardians, his concerned expression faded into one of contempt as he spoke. "Autumn found a way to confront Pitch, but he didn't believe it was her. He thought you guys were trying to trick him. I guess he didn't get a good look at the scar he left on her," Jack scoffed, "He attacked her, I got here just in time to stop him, and he disappeared. Autumn didn't take it too well."

Dropping his hand from Jack's shoulder, North sighed a heavy sigh. "I thought this would happen. Pitch is very angry now, he will stop at nothing to defeat us. And now she is in more danger then she was before."

Jack scowled, he was becoming irritated, none of this made sense to him. He just wanted Autumn to let it go…maybe he was jealous. "North, why is Pitch so important to Autumn? Why won't she just give up on him and let it go?"

North glanced at him with knowing eyes, he knew exactly why Jack was upset, "It is long story, Jack." He responded with a sigh, he had to keep Jack from getting too involved, he didn't want to see the poor boy's heart broken.

Jack shook his head determined to get the whole story, "I'm not going anywhere." He responded darkly. North looked to the others and after a moment, nodded at them.

"We'll be at the Warren," Bunny nodded back, "But make it quick, mate. We've got work to do" and tapping a large foot on the ground, Bunny jumped into a tunnel. And after a gazing almost sadly at Jack, Tooth flitted down into the tunnel after him, leaving Jack and North in silence.

North turned to Jack, and taking a deep breath, began to clear things up for Jack the best he could.

"Pitch has lived for very long time, Jack. Longer then even Autumn knows. Since he has been in this world, he has always been King of Nightmares. I don't know whole story, only what Man in Moon and Sandy have said…A long time ago, Pitch disappeared off the face of planet, nowhere to be seen, no trace, just gone. What was strange was that he vanished at same exact time Autumn was chosen to become Spirit of Autumn. Pitch was missing for five hundred years, and when he returned, he had no memory, nothing of who he was before. We still have no idea how or why. But then he met Autumn, they became friends and he stayed close to her. Sandy and I kept close eye on him for long time, waiting for something to happen, waiting for him to turn back to who he was, and he almost did. Pitch let power go to head and got carried away, darkness almost took his heart again. But Autumn saved him, and for some reason, he listened to her." North gazed up to the man in the moon, as though Manny was the only one who knew exactly what had happened.

"So, what does that mean?" Jack was confused, and for some reason he felt a weight in his heart, Autumn and Pitch had been closer than he had thought, or wanted to think.

"I didn't find out till later from Man in Moon. Not until after we thought she died, but Autumn was chosen as guardian" North chuckled at Jacks confused face, "Not like us of course. But she is guardian of Pitch…his protector. When Pitch lost memories, Manny chose Autumn to take him in and show him right way to live. Manny chose her because she is strong and true of heart, willing to look past what he was, but instead to what he could be. She has always protected him from his true nature, and eventually he fell in love with her." North's face turned grave, "But now, Pitch has seemed to regain old memories, we don't know how. But there seems to be only one way to stop him…"

Jack was getting impatient, "So let's do it, whatever it is, let's hurry up and stop him!"

North shook his head, "Is not so simple, Jack. Autumn is key to stopping Pitch; she must realize how she feels about him. After that, Pitch has to decide…power or Autumn."

"Whoa, wait, what do you mean realize how she feels?" Jack was getting more irritated, how could she feel anything for him after he broke her heart? Jack knew he could take way better care of her then Pitch ever did. He didn't want Autumn to have feelings for Pitch, maybe he was jealous after all.

North frowned, "Why do you think she was so devastated, or why she has stopped for nothing to find him? If she wasn't in love with him, things would be different. She just hasn't realized yet…Jack, I know that look on face; you can't fall for her. She is destined for Pitch, she is his and our, only hope…"

Jack nodded his head; he was a little confused, and he felt a little heart broken, he had begun to feel for her, but it was better that he learned the truth now before it was too late and he fell to hard. He decided, instead, he was going to protect her, no matter what. He would help her, if it made her happy. And if she failed, he would be there to pick up the pieces and help her move on, even if it was just as a friend.

"Now," North spoke loudly, trying to change the subject for Jack's sake, "Onto matters at hand, it's time to figure out how to keep children believing. Pitch has tipped balance of the world, Easter is tomorrow, maybe there is something we can do." North pulled on his long white beard in thought.

"I want to help." Came a soft voice behind them. North and Jack turned to see Autumn standing in the doorway of her home, a determined look on her face. She looked a lot better then what she did before, Jack thought. Maybe she just had to get all her feelings out in the open, and with his help, she did.

"Autumn?" Jack took a step towards her, worried at what she might have heard, "How long have you been there?"

She giggled lightly, a sound Jack was relieved to hear given the circumstances. "Not long, don't worry; I didn't catch your secret conversation. Please let me help, I don't want to be useless anymore, I made a mistake trying to confront Pitch on my own and I want to do this the right way now."

"No," Jack protested, grabbing her shoulders, "It's too dangerous, I'm not going to let you get hurt anymore!"

"Jack!" North held up his hand to silence Jack before turning to smile a jolly smile at Autumn, "It is ok to help, Autumn. But if Pitch interferes, you must let Jack take you somewhere safe until Pitch is weak enough to listen without attacking." North's face turned unusually serious, which intimidated her just a bit. Regardless, Autumn nodded her head, she had messed up, she let her guilt and her fears become her weakness. Well now it was time for her to be strong again, the way she had been strong for Pitch all those years ago. Jack had been right before; feeling sorry for herself was not going to bring Pitch back.

"Good, now come," North's goofy grin was back on his face, "Bunny and Tooth are waiting in Easter Warren."

And with new resolve in her step that gave her the confidence Jack was glad to see, they made their way back to Bunny and Tooth.

* * *

They had spent all day and most of the night in the Easter Warren painting eggs in time for Easter that was in just a couple of hours, and entertaining their surprise guest, Sophie. She was adorable, Autumn wished she could play with her, but she was invisible to the little girl. She enjoyed watching Bunny play with her though, he seemed to have grown an attachment to the toddler, which was strange for him, but adorable none the less.

Before they knew it they were finished, all the eggs in the warren and one elf had been painted up nice and pretty for Easter, and they were all making their way to the large tunnels that would lead them up to the surface of the world. Jack and Bunny sat on the hill side watching, Sophie had fallen asleep in Bunny's arms. And for once, Jack and Bunny seemed to be getting along. Autumn was surprised, but she smiled anyway, it warmed her heart to see Jack and Bunny finally getting along. She and Bunny had been friend for a long time, and she came to see Jack like a brother, he certainly did act like it sometimes.

It was almost time to take the eggs up to hide for the children of the world. Jack had decided to take Sophie home after much arguing between him and the guardians. The moment he left, though, Autumn felt uncomfortable, something wasn't right.

"North," she spoke softly, as the large man turned to her, a big goofy grin in place. His grin fell however when he saw the look on Autumn's face. "Something doesn't feel right…I don't think we should have let Jack leave."

North nodded before walking a couple steps ahead of her, looking around, "Do you hear that?" he whispered quietly. Bunny and Tooth were on their guard then, Bunny pulled out his boomerangs as North unsheathed his sword.

"Autumn, take cover in the tunnels" North demanded as he looked around.

Autumn felt her stomach drop as she went to hid with the eggs behind the wall leading into a tunnel, she was right, something was coming. Swallowing hard, she waited.

And then it came, a torrent of nightmares made of black sand out of nowhere it seemed, and headed straight for the guardians. The guardians fought them off as hard as they could, protecting the eggs and Autumn with everything they had. Autumn could just stand by and do nothing, she had to help. She rushed out from her hiding spot grabbing the largest stick she could and began jabbing and beating at as many nightmares as she could, and even though she was not a fighter, she managed to knock out a few on her own.

"Autumn, No!" Tooth yelled spotting her out in the open, "You have to hide, we'll handle this!"

Autumn didn't seem to hear her however as a group of nightmares rushed at her at full speed, she didn't even have time to call for help. And then everything around her went black, she was surrounded in black swirling sand. Tooth rushed at trying to beat the sand away but it was too thick, she tried, none the less, beating and digging at the sand until she could reach Autumn . And then the thick sand seemed to rush away in a single direction and it was silent, the nightmares were gone, Autumn was gone, and the eggs were destroyed.

"No," North sighed dejectedly, "We…we failed?"

"North…" Tooth chocked out falling to her knees on the soft grass, "Autumn's gone…they took her. The nightmares took her."

North was silent, in shock only for a moment before scowling and turning his attention to the devastated Easter Bunny.

"Bunny!" North bellowed, "Get to the surface, whatever eggs you have left, try to get them out, we'll search around for any eggs intact, and any traces of Autumn then we'll meet you up there." Bunny nodded taking a basket full of eggs with him up to the surface. North and Tooth began their search. They looked high and low all over the warren for any traces of where the nightmare creatures might have taken her, but to no avail, and reluctantly, and a bit tearfully, they made their way to the surface to tell Bunny…

The surface was completely bare of eggs, heartbroken children gathered up their Easter baskets and made their way back home. When Tooth and North finally arrived, they were surprised to see Jack, who looked confused, and a little bit guilty. Where had he been, and why did he have his teeth, and where was Baby Tooth?

"What have you done?" Tooth gasped out, covering her mouth with her hands in shock.

The guardians were heartbroken, assuming that Jack had traded baby tooth for his memories. No one would hear him out. Not even North. Tooth flew slowly over to Jack, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jack…" Tooth said sadly, "They took Autumn, she's gone…and you weren't there for her…"

Jack was devastated, ashamed and heartbroken. He couldn't handle it anymore, and he flew off into the sky, far away from the guardians he had let down.

* * *

Jack had flown himself down south, to the coldest place on earth, trying to get away from his failure. He was standing at the very edge of a glacier, trying so hard to find the will to throw away the memories that had been his downfall.

And then, like a shadow in the night, Pitch was there. Pitch tried to relate to Jack, 'I believe in you' he had said, but Jack wouldn't hear it and he attacked Pitch relentlessly; he was angry and hurt, and worried for Autumn.

Pitch had bested him though, using Baby Tooth as leverage for his staff, promising to release Baby Tooth if he handed his staff over. Reluctantly, Jack gave his staff to Pitch, the frost instantly melted off the staff once it touched Pitch's hand. And then Pitch betrayed him, refusing to release Baby Tooth and breaking Jack's staff in half before launching both him and Baby Tooth into the nearby ravine.

It took Jack a few minutes to regain himself, and finally did as Pitch dropped the broken halves of the winter staff down into the icy crevasse. Jack was broken and angry as he turned his face up to Pitch.

"Where is she!" he raged up at him.

"Who?" Pitch responded dully, "Oh you mean that little imposter your guardian friends tried to trick me with? Why she's locked up, Jack. Marvelous little actress, wherever did you find her? Anyways, you'll be reunited again soon when I punish you all for what you've done. You shouldn't have gotten involved, Jack." Pitch laughed as he walked away, his laughter echoed throughout the ravine walls.

Jack sunk his head in defeat as he held Baby Tooth in his hands, wishing he could take back everything.

* * *

"Well that was fun," Pitch's voice echoed throughout his underground castle, bouncing off the walls and through Autumn's cold stone cage before he materialized out of the shadows, floating in mid-air on a black cloud of sand right in front of her cage. "And I'm not even finished yet!"

Autumn said nothing; she didn't want to make the situation worse than it was. Pitch already didn't believe it was her, and she knew that anything she tried to say would only make him angry. So instead, she sat to the side of her stone cage hiding in the shadows, cross legged, eyes closed, and focusing on keeping herself calm. Pitch frowned at her lack of reaction.

"Don't pout, dear. I haven't forgotten about you. But you simply must tell me how you managed to pull off impersonating her so well, did the guardians put you up to this?" she gave him no answer, instead keeping her eyes closed and her head turned down to the floor of the stone cage, "Come now, I'm going to find out one way or another. What could have possibly made them think they could impersonate her so easily?"

Autumn found her curiosity eating away at her, and she decided to play along. Lowering her head she made sure her long auburn hair fell over her shoulders to cover her scar before he saw.

"The girl you think I'm impersonating…what was she to you?" she asked timidly, afraid of his reaction.

Pitch's malicious grin faded, "Why do you care all the sudden. She died a long time ago so what does it matter?"

Autumn gulped, "I've…heard things, from the guardians, but not a lot. I was curious." She hoped she could play this out just right and find something she could use to get to him when the time came.

Pitch's eclipse-like eyes became distant and sad, "She was…like rays of first morning sunlight. Her heart was so bright and pure that it shone through her golden eyes. Back before this…thing…made me remember who I really am, it was always only her by my side; she cared for me like no other. She was gentle and kind, with a voice like the soft autumn wind; gentle and caring. She used to sing lullaby's to the world…and to me. I'll never forget the lullaby she used to sing to me…" Suddenly he seemed to snap out of it and his fierce glare returned.

"But that doesn't matter. I've caught you, imposter. And once I take care of the guardians…You're next." He growled as he faded back into the shadows and disappeared. Autumn couldn't help the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. It broke her heart that he still believed she was an imposter, but it also touched her that after all these years, he still felt so strongly for her. Maybe…maybe it was time to give him the chance he deserved. She knew exactly what lullaby he had been referring, she had always sung it to him, it was her favorite and his. Maybe, when it was time, if she sung it to him again, he would finally believe it was really her. But she was worried though; Pitch had said that something had made him remember who he really was…what did that mean? And who was he talking about?

'_Who do you think, stupid girl?_' came a familiar bone chilling voice out of the depths of her consciousness. Autumn stood, she knew that voice, it echoed so often in her dreams, fueling her nightmares, but not this time, she was going to face whatever kept giving her those nightmares once and for all.

"Are you telling me you're in his head to?" her voice was hard and cold, she was surprised at the strength in it.

"It's time for you to tell me who you are!" she said sternly, this voice she kept hearing wasn't hers, and it wasn't anything from her, it was hostile and it was trying to destroy her.

'_Not so stupid after all I see. You still won't get rid of me. You're right; I'm not just in your mind, but the Nightmare kings as well. You've been very useful to me, you played a big role in the Nightmare King's madness. Poor little Boogeyman lost the woman he loves and blames the world, even though she still alive, how tragic. And now that he doesn't know you anymore, he's mine. And I'm finished with you!'_

As those last words echoed throughout her mind she felt a sharp pain accompanied by a loud ringing from the back of her head to the front. Grabbing her head she fell to her knees, she hadn't felt pain like this since she had become the spirit of Autumn when her memories had come rushing back to her. Who was this creature, how was it inside her head, and why was it after Pitch? She couldn't let it win, she had to fight it, not for her sake, but for her friends and most importantly, for Pitch.

Fighting the pain and desperately trying to ignore the ringing, she stood back up and held onto the stone bars for support, her expression was hard and determined.

"I don't know who you are or what you want," She growled into the darkness, wincing as the ringing got louder with every word, "But you're not going to take me down so easy. I will fight for Pitch, I don't care who he is or what he was. I'll fight for him till my last breath his taken from me," the pain intensified briefly, "And you will not be the one to take it!"

And then all was silent, the pain was gone. Dropping to back down to her knees she gasped for air, in the midst of her agony she had forgotten how to breathe. But she was okay now, the malice she felt in her mind had vanished, whatever it was, it was gone. She was proud of herself, she didn't give in and she stayed strong. Now it was time to find a way out of here and stop Pitch, she didn't know who or what that voice was, but if it was in Pitch's head to, then he was in serious trouble, and he needed her now more than ever.

* * *

**OMG This chapter was a pain in the butt! Sorry it took me so long to get it out, this is probably my least favorite chapter. Don't worry I'm gonna try to do better on the next one, not sure how long it will take me, but just hang in there!**

**More to come in Chapter 9!**


	10. Determination

_**Determination  
**_

Autumn paced slowly and tiredly back in forth in her small stone cage, it was bigger then ones the tooth fairies were in, but only just big enough for her to stand in. She had tried everything to get out, but the cold bars were just too strong. She had called the wind to rattle the cage in hopes it would knock it off is chain from the ceiling, but the cage didn't budge, she assumed there was some kind of magic holding it stone still. When that didn't work she tried touching the bars, using her powers to make the stone decay like the autumn leaves. It had worked only a little, and she had tried banging her fists against the stone to make it break apart, but it did not work, her hands were covered in gashes where she had beat them. She tried a little more force by ramming her left shoulder into the decayed stone bars but they were still too strong, she was pretty sure her shoulder had been dislocated, she couldn't mover her arm, and her shoulder was throbbing uncontrollably. Autumn however was not giving up; she was filled with adrenaline now that she knew what she had to do to save Pitch. She bit her bottom lip, ignoring the pain radiating in her hands and shoulder. She sighed as she leaned against the bars; she had to find a way. She looked over to the other cages suspended in the air, and stifled a giggle. All the little Tooth Fairies had been watching her quietly, hoping that she would succeed in her escape attempt. She smiled sadly at them, they couldn't fly anymore, all but a few of the lights on Pitch's believing globe had gone out, which meant that the children didn't believe in the guardians anymore. Sighing again she closed her eyes, she was at a loss, she didn't want to give up but she didn't know how to get out.

And then it got real noisy. The tooth fairies were chattering and squeaking loudly. Autumn opened her eyes to look at them half in annoyance, half in curiosity; instead she came face to face with a familiar white haired, blue eyed winter sprite.

"Gah! OW!" Autumn had jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance and had jostled her dislocated shoulder in doing so. She clutched at her arm, willing the searing pain to fade away as she bit her bottom lip again. Jack looked amused at first and then frowned when he saw her holding her arm, along with the gashes on her delicate hands. Unlocking the cage, he hovered in front of her, reaching out to touch her but afraid he would do more damage than good, he hesitated.

"Autumn, what happened, what's wrong with your arm?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

She shook her head and gulped back her tears of pain, never letting go of her arm, "I was trying to escape, I guess I got a little desperate. I think my shoulder is dislocated." She spoke through gritted teeth.

Jack grimaced, "I came to free you and the tooth fairies, but it doesn't look like they can fly. Can you still?" he asked a tad bit worried at her answer. A bit hesitantly, she stood up straight and unfolded her orange and red butterfly wings from her back, fluttering them in the air just fast enough to lift her off the ground. And with a loud cry she fell back onto her feet and collapsed onto her knees.

"Ugh…I can't fly, my wings are pulling on my shoulder blade; it hurts too much" she whimpered out. Jack nodded, a hard look settling on his face as he kneeled in front of her and placed a hand gently on her uninjured shoulder.

"I'll come back for you, there's one last light on the globe and I know who it is. Just wait here okay?" he stood up to leave but was stopped as Autumn grabbed his wrist with her good hand. Looking up at him with determination in her eyes, she shook her head.

"No…help me put my shoulder back in place. I'm going to go find the others; I'm not going to sit by this time when they need my help. We should be able to used the cage as leverage, there's some kind of magic hold it still. " She said through gritted teeth. Jack gave her a horrified look; he didn't want to hurt her. But he saw the desperation in her eyes, and his affection for her grew, she had become so strong. And he knew if he was in her position, he would want her to do the same thing for him. Jack frowned, but nodded his head.

"Are you sure? This is really going to hurt…" he warned as he held out his hand. Her look of desperation melted into a goofy grin as she nodded her head vigorously. He chuckled a little at her sudden change in demeanor as he grabbed her good hand and helped her to her feet. And though she was shaking a bit, she wrapped her uninjured arm around the stubborn stone bar and let Jack bend her injured arm around his frozen staff, giving her an apologetic look as she hissed in pain at the movement. Autumn took in a deep, shaky breath.

"Okay…On 3," Jack warned, placing both hands firmly on his staff, and both feet firmly on the bottom rim of the cage. Autumn squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she wouldn't be able to prepare herself enough.

"One…two…" and without reaching three Jack jerked with all his strength on his staff, and with a sickening loud crack and an ear shattering cry of pain that echoed around the dark lair, her shoulder snapped back into place. Autumn gasped as tears slid down her face and letting go of the cage bar she fell to her knees, clutching her throbbing shoulder. Without a word Jack rushed over to her kneeling down behind her and placing a cool hand on her shoulder, he willed a small layer of frost to cover from the top of her shoulder, down her arm, and over to her shoulder blade, hoping it would help soothe her pain. It seemed to help a bit as her shaky breath evened out just a little, and Jack sighed with relief that she was okay.

"You forgot three…" she hissed between her teeth, trying to steady her breathing. Jack grinned mischievously.

"Well," he chuckled, "They say it doesn't hurt so bad if it's unexpected." He gave her another toothy grin.

"Well they were bloody liars." She spat jokingly. Jack raised an eyebrow at her; that was the first time he had ever heard her come close to swearing, it was kinda cute.

"Come on," he said through his grin. She looked back at him quizzically as he placed an arm around her back just above her wings, staff still in hand, and another arm under her knees and lifted her up in his arms.

"Uhm…What are you doing?" she asked as she threw her arms around his neck to keep from falling, wincing a bit when she moved her recently relocated, frost covered shoulder a bit too quickly.

"You need to give your shoulder a bit of rest before you try to fly," he stated smugly, a big mischievous grin on his face "I'm gonna carry you until you can fly normally, okay?" And without giving her a chance to respond he shot out of the cage and into the air. Looking back down at the fairies she felt her heart sink, Jack had opened the cages, but they couldn't fly, they were stuck there.

"We'll come back for you!" she called as they flew out of the lair…

As they flew through the darkened nighttime sky, Autumn felt a weight in her heart, it was time for her to fess up.

"Jack," she said quietly, he gave a soft 'hmm' to let her know he was listening, "I'm sorry…I lied. I did hear the conversation between you and North…" Jack looked down at her in surprise, but she was looking anywhere but him, he felt his heart sink a little.

"Jack…North was right. I do love Pitch…I've always loved him, I don't know why I never saw it before…maybe I was just a coward. That's why I have to save him, Jack. I don't know who he was before; I didn't even know that he had lost memories. But I've seen the good in him, he's still my Pitch. I know how he felt about me, he told me just before I died, maybe if I finally tell him back, just maybe…I can save him."

"I just don't understand," Jack replied, keeping his eyes on the dark, starry horizon as the wind whipped is snow white hair back. He glanced down briefly at the long scar running across her chest and his eyes became sad, "Why, after everything he's done, do still care about him? Why are you so intent on saving him?"

She smiled knowingly, "Because," she whispered back, "Like you, like the guardians, and like the rest of the world should be…He is always forgiven."

Autumn turned to look at him, and his heart fluttered, her eyes were soft, gentle and full of love, but then they turned a little sad, "I also heard what North said…about you falling for me…" Jack gulped; he didn't think he was ready for this, not yet, but he let her continue regardless.

"Jack…" he didn't look at her, "Jack I love you, but not like I love Pitch. You're my best friend, and no matter what, you'll always be dear to my heart." He looked at her then, her eyes, full of sincerity, never left his face. He smiled a genuine smile at her before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It's okay," he said honestly, "I already know." And he did, he knew how she felt, and he had decided he was happy just having her around him as a friend. He was dear to her, and that's all that mattered to him.

It didn't take long for Jack to reach his destination as he landed on the roof of Jamie's house. He gently set Autumn back down on her feet, but kept a hand on her back just in case she needed the help.

"Can you fly from here?" he questioned, still a bit concerned. She nodded smiling brightly.

"I should be able to, it doesn't hurt so bad anymore." Her face turned serious. "Do what you can, Jack. I'm going to go find the others and bring them here, Pitch is on the move and we need to be ready to face him together."

Jack nodded, before touching her shoulder and adding one more layer of frost for good measure. She smiled a playful smile at him.

"You know," she giggled out, "If you freeze my shoulder too much, it'll go numb and I won't be able to fly." He smirked at her in return. "Oh, I think you'll manage." She stuck her tongue out at him before slowly lifting herself in the air. She winced a bit, but she was okay enough now to fly. Though not as fast as she would have liked she flew up and headed towards the Warren, the last place she had seen the guardians.

"Good luck, Jack!" she called back to him, waving.

* * *

"North!" Autumn shouted as loud as she could as she flew through the warren, she had seen the smashed Easter eggs, and took a guess at what had happened. She flitted as fast a she could through the Warren, hoping to find any trace of them, when she flew over a clearing with a tiny little furry dot sitting in the middle. She stopped and flew down landing right in front of it and gasped at what she saw.

"Bunny?" she said in shock. He wasn't tall and intimidating anymore, instead, he was a tiny little bunny rabbit…like…a normal bunny rabbit…he was adorable! Autumn tried desperately to hold back a giggle, she knew this wasn't funny.

"Hey!" he shouted with the same thick Australian accent, "Don't laugh at me, Sheila! This is serious!" she couldn't help it then, this tiny adorable little thing still trying to act so tough, she doubled over laughing as hard as she could desperately trying to catch her breath, only calming down when he shoulder started to twinge.

"I'm sorry, Bunny. I know it's not funny," she said whipping a tear away from the corner of her eye, "But you're just so cute!" Bunny opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted as North and Tooth came barreling through the tree line.

"Autumn!" Tooth shouted, flitting over to her, checking her up and down to see if she was okay, and even inside her mouth to make sure her teeth were still intact. Autumn grabbed Tooth's small, feathered covered wrists to pry her hands out of her mouth. Tooth gasped as she grabbed Autumn's hands, turning them over to look at the fresh gashes.

"What happened?!" she almost squealed. But Autumn was interrupted before she could answer.

"Autumn!" bellowed a loud Russian accent as she was lifted off the ground and crushed in a bear hug, "You are alright!"

"Ow ow ow!" she gasped at the sudden pressure on her shoulder, "North…I missed you to but could you put me down please?" she whimpered out.

"What's wrong," Tooth asked concerned, as North dropped her back onto her feet, they both noticed the patch of frost on her shoulder that was beginning to melt, much to Autumns discomfort. Autumn sighed, "Dislocated my arm trying to escape. But Jack found me and helped me out" she beamed. The others exchanged glances, and Autumn's smile fell.

"What's wrong, guys?" she asked a bit timidly. Bunny hopped forward, a scowl forming across his cute bunny face.

"Jack betrayed us, Autumn. He sold out Baby Tooth for his memories." Bunny looked away. Autumn's smile fell as she turned to the others, but they looked away to.

"Well" she started slowly "I would say he's redeemed himself." They gave her a questioning look as her smile returned, "Baby Tooth was with Jack when he rescued me, on top of the fact that he rescued me. Baby Tooth stayed with the other fairies, and Jack went to see the last believer before his light went out."

They looked shocked, almost unable to believe what she had just told them. North was the first to recover, shaking his head a big grin formed on his jolly face.

"Then what we waiting for, slowpokes!" he bellowed, "Let's get to the last light and help Jack!" and whistling he called down the reindeer attached to the sleigh Autumn had only see once before. And climbing in together, they took off into the tunnel and out into the surface sky.

* * *

**So this chapter was a little short, sorry about that. I'm starting another story that will be posted after this one is finished, it's the same story, but it's about a different character, and eventually all the characters I create will be combined into one big finale! :-D It's a work in progress though, so any suggestions or constructive criticism would be welcome.**

** Reviews are great, I love reading them, I get a lot of motivation from your reviews, so thank you if you have or plan to, you've really been an inspiration to me. If you don't, no biggie, just as long as you enjoy what you read. :-)**

**And as always, stay tuned for Chapter 10, kiddos!**

**~Luna Bella  
**


	11. To Lose is to Win

_**So I had to do exactly what I hate and write out a lot of the scenes from the movie, so please forgive me if the top half of this chapter is lacking detail and/or confusing, I may go back later and revise some of it. It took me forever to figure out how I was going to write this chapter out, so please excuse the messiness and enjoy! **_

* * *

_**To Lose is to Win**_

The sleigh ride was extremely rough; Autumn could tell North was losing his powers, Tooth couldn't even fly anymore. Autumn was holding Bunny in her arms tightly, it was bad enough that he hated riding in the sleigh, but now he was so tiny her heart went out to him. So she held him and covered his eyes the whole trip back to Burgess. They arrived with an extremely rough landing and North's reindeer were rattled loose from their harness and flew off into the night as North called out to them to come back, but to no avail his powers were completely gone. After setting Bunny back down in the sleigh, Autumn hopped out with the others as Jack approached them. Autumn immediately notice the look of pride and utmost joy on his face, but before she could question him a very excited child came running up from behind Jack to face Tooth and North.

"Whoa! It is you! I mean it IS you!" he exclaimed joyously. "I knew it wasn't a dream!" he turned to face Jack, much to everyone's surprise.

"Jack…" North was astonished, "He sees you."

Autumn gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands, tears started to form at the corner of her eyes, she was happy for him. She knew how much it meant to him that a child could finally see him. And though her smile stayed in place, her eyes became sad. She would never know what that felt like; to be believed in. But she was proud that Jack was.

Jack turned his gaze towards Autumn and was about to ask about her shoulder when he seemed to recognize the look in her eyes. And without a word to the others, he kneeled down and draped an arm around Jamie's shoulders and began to whisper in his ear. Jamie's eyes widened and he smiled a big smile that showed off his missing front tooth.

"Really?" he asked happily.

Jack nodded and then looked over to Autumn, "She's right there." He said pointing his staff right at her, and Jamie turned his head in the direction Jack was pointing. Autumn sighed and closed her eyes.

"Jack, I appreciate you trying but it's not going to work, people just don't see me, they haven't for over eight-" she started but she was interrupted by a Jamie.

"Wow!" he threw his hands up in the air, "Look at those wings! There awesome, she really does look like fall!" he shouted as he ran up to stand in front of her. Her eyes snapped open and her jaw dropped as she looked from Jamie to Jack, who had a mischievous smirk on his face, then back to Jamie.

"Can you really see me? Or did Jack tell you to say that?" she hesitated, almost afraid of the answer…or lack of one. Jamie nodded his head vigorously.

"I can really see you! I didn't even know there was an autumn spirit!" he shouted again. She kneeled down in front of him, the shock plain on her face. She felt the tears began to spill from her eyes as she gave Jamie a soft smile and embraced him in a hug.

"For over eight hundred years…No one has ever believed in me…" Jamie hugged her back, "I thought that was the way it was supposed to be. I never thought in all my years a human would ever be able to see me…Thank you." She whispered to him as she pulled away and stood, wiping a tear away from her eye. Jamie grinned big at her and nodded his head to say you're welcome.

And then it was Bunnies turn, Autumn went over to the sleigh to pick him up at set him on the ground where it was revealed that Jack had been responsible for helping Jamie believe in the Easter bunny as well. Jack and bunny had shared a special moment, bonding as friends before a bright flash of lightening and the roaring of thunder got everyone's attention. Everyone turned their attention to the dark sky to find Pitch standing on a thundering cloud of sand, scowling down at them. Jack stepped forward and then turned back to them.

"Get Jamie out of here," he commanded, "And keep Autumn hidden!" he flew into the air, staff in hand and ready to confront Pitch.

"Be careful, Jack" North called up to him as Autumn took Jamie's hand and led him down the street along with the other's.

Bunny lead them into an ally way trying to find them shelter before reaching a dead end, "Other way, other way!" he shouted as he hopped around and led them in a different direction, North trailed behind, using a sword as a crutch, without his powers, he was just a harmless old man. A loud bang caught there attention, and they looked up to see Jack slung into the nearest building, crash on top of the dumpster and land fast first on the ground. Jamie was the first one to his side, trying to help him off the ground to make sure he was okay.

"Good try, Jack," North bellowed, "A for effort." Autumn bit back a giggle. The situation was too serious to be cracking jokes right now.

"He's too strong," Jack mumbled, "I can't beat him."

A loud and malicious cackle echoed throughout the alley. North immediately grabbed Autumn by the arm and flung her behind his back, making sure she was well hidden from Pitch. Placing a delicate hand on North's large arm, Autumn peaked around him to see what was going on.

Pitch was taunting them now; he moved in shadow form back and forth across the alley and even taunted Bunny who jumped up into North's large hand, never forgetting to threaten Pitch in the process. And then the nightmares came, bigger than before and meaner. They filed their way into the alley, ganging up on them, corning them. They had no place to run to. And then Pitch rode his way in behind them, a dark and hateful smile formed on his face, one Autumn had never seen on him before. Her heart skipped a beat, this was the first time she had seen him since she realized that she loved him, and seeing the look of hate and loathing on his face made her yearn to confront him that much more. But she resisted for the guardians sake.

Pitch had stopped at the entrance of the alley, but his shadow and the shadows of the nightmares continued to stretch forward, all the way to Jamie's feet who proceeded to take a few steps back and look up at Jack with frightened eyes.

"Jack," he whimpered, "I'm scared."

Jack bent down to place a hand on his shoulder, "I know…" he comforted, and then his eyes became distant for a moment, and after a couple seconds he looked back to Jamie; eyes wide as a personal realization dawned on him.

"But we're gonna have a little fun instead." He said slowly, "That's it! That's my center!"

Both Jamie and Autumn, gave him a confused look; what the heck did that mean? But before he could answer, Pitch moved forward again, this time taunting poor Jamie, but before he could even finish his sentence; a large, white, and very cold snow ball wacked Pitch in the face and off they went. While the Boogeyman was distracted, they all huddled up on their own make-shift sleighs with the trash cans that sat behind them. Autumn was on a medium sized silver trashcan lid holding Bunny close in her arms. And with a blast of ice forming a pathway on the ground they were off, gliding and zipping as fast as they could down the street away from Pitch.

Autumn wasn't too sure what Jack had in mind, but after a few pit stops she caught on. Jack was taking Jamie around to all his friends and showing them that the guardians, and Jack Frost, really do exist, that way the others could, hopefully, get their powers back. Onward they slid, almost like a roller coaster, and Autumn couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. And then when they reached the center of town they came to a dead halt along with all the children they had recruited, and watched in horror as what looked like waves upon waves of nightmares came barreling at them, Pitch was on the rooftop in front of them, a triumphant and wicked smile on his face as he sneered at them and mocked them. Autumn was almost heart-broken. Pitch had become so powerful, for a moment she was at a loss at how in the world they were going to be able to beat him.

When Pitch had mocked them for a final time, daring anyone to step forward to interfere; Autumn was speechless when all the children began to step forward before the weakened guardians, vowing to protect them.

Pitch scoffed, "Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?" he sneered, a wild look was in his eyes as the nightmares closed in on them. That look on his face was not his, Autumn knew that, there was something very off about Pitch, she just needed to figure out what it was. And then she witnessed a miracle. Jamie stepped forward, a determined look on his face as he bravely challenged Pitch.

"I do believe in you!" he shouted, as the nightmares rushed at him, "I'm just not afraid of you!"

Autumn felt pride swell in her heart for Jamie, that a child so young could become so strong. Her joy was short-lived however as she witnessed the menacing black sand come crashing down in his direction. And without missing a beat Jamie outstretched his small hand and when the Nightmares raced head first into him, they burst and turned a familiar gold color as they swirled away from him and weaved around the others.

Autumn's eyes widened in wonder at what she had just witnessed, and her smile grew even brighter when Tooth and North regained their powers, and after a few minutes and a quick getaway from the nightmares by Bunny, he grew back to his larger size and immediately sprang into action, knocking out nightmares one by one. North smashed two snow globes to the ground, summing portals for the workshop yeti's to come and help him fight. Even the children joined in; as soon as the small hands of the believers touched the nightmares, they would burst into a cloud of beautiful golden sand.

The game was on, and now it was Pitch's turn as the guardians maneuvered their way around the buildings, up the rooftops and onto the roof that Pitch had been occupying. Autumn jumped into the air flying to their aid when Jack grabbed her ankle and pulled her back down to the ground.

"Stay here and protect the children!" he commanded, "Pitch isn't ready yet."

Autumn was disappointed, but nodded her head and obeyed none-the-less. She watched in earnest, however, as Jack and the guardians battled against Pitch desperately trying to knock him out or weaken him, whichever came first. They jumped from roof to roof, waging war for the sake of their lives and most importantly for the sake of the children. Autumn stayed on the ground but followed them through the streets, trying desperately to keep an eye on her friends, and waiting for the right moment to confront Pitch, hoping against all odds he would survive through this. They were on the ground now, Pitch had been knocked off the rooftops and they battled at the intersection at the end of her street. They had him cornered against a row of buses, and then he vanished. He sunk into the shadows as his laugh echoed around her friends. She ran as fast as she could trying to get there in time when she saw Pitch rise from the shadows behind Pitch swinging his scythe right for Jack. But right as he was about to land the finish blow a long golden whip snapped itself around Pitch's arm and dragged him into the air over the school buses and out of sight.

After catching up with everyone, Autumn and the others raced to the other side, out into the snow to see what had happened. She gasped as her jaw dropped at what she saw, it was Sandy…he was alive! And apparently he had dealt with Pitch. She couldn't believe it, and she couldn't have been more thrilled to see her old friend return from the dead. She smiled as the guardians surrounded him and North lifted him into the air to let him float back down to the ground again.

Looking past them her smile faded as she caught sight of an unconscious Pitch, lying face down in the snow with a small golden butterflies flittering around his head. She looked to Sandy who had been watching her and he nodded as he pointed to a small butterfly circling his own spikey golden hair. She knew what the butterfly meant; it meant that Pitch was still dreaming of her. Even through all the hate and all the misery he had spread, he still had a very big spot in his heart for her. So what exactly then had driven him to do all this?

Her attention was pulled elsewhere as the Sandman lifted himself on a swirling platform of sand into the sky, tendrils of sand flowed forth from the small cloud and made their way to the homes of all the frightened children, and finally, restoring peace to the whole world. Autumn had been so caught up she had to stifle a scream when I giant sand made dinosaur slammed its foot into the snow covered ground right next to her. Clutching her chest to slow her racing heart she looked up and smiled. Dolphins, sting rays and snowflakes flew through the air as the children's imaginations came to life in the dream sand. She laughed as they all started throwing snow balls at each other, even the guardians joined in on their antics, but it was only short-lived.

"How dare you have fun in my presence!" Came a loud and very angry voice from behind, "I am the Boogeyman, and you will fear me!" Pitch leaned down to capture Jamie but Jamie went right through him.

"NO!" he shouted, and then a little softer, "No…" he looked towards the guardians, his eyes were shocked, frightened, and lonely. Autumn felt her heart break as he turned around to flee. She followed the guardians as they went to cut him off, catching him at the lake just outside of Burgess. He ran right into North's big belly and fell backwards onto the ice. Autumn went another direction, coming up behind Pitch to be there when he turned around, then she would confront him.

And after the flick of a quarter and a very well deserved slap from the Tooth fairy, Autumn was up, Pitch was ready and now was the time. She took a deep breath.

"Pitch," she whispered gently from behind him, and he jerked around to face its owner. He sneered when he saw her, the imposter.

"You again!" he spat, "You don't have to pretend anymore, your precious guardians defeated me, you can-" he stopped mid-sentence. She had closed her eyes and began to sing, her song was familiar, too familiar. He knew that song; it was HER song, the song she used to sing to him when they were alone, snuggled up by the fire after a hard day's work. But how did this woman know it?

Pitch narrowed his eyes, "How dare you, how do you know that song?" he growled. She looked up, her golden eyes shining as she gazed at him, still singing and never missing a beat. Slowly she reached up to pull her hair back behind her to reveal the long pink scar running across her chest.

Pitch gasped as he took a step backwards; eyes wide in shock. It WAS her, there was no denying it now; the way she looked, her eyes, that song, her scar. This was no imposter, and all this time he thought…

"_NO!"_ a malevolent voice screamed inside his head.

Pitch fell to his knees clutching his head in pain as a loud ringing invaded his mind along with the dark voice.

'_Don't fall for it! You are the Nightmare King! That girl is an imposter, the real Autumn died and she's never coming back. Don't abandon your madness for a false hope!" _it snarled at him. Pitch shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off the voice but it didn't work.

Autumn stopped singing and rushed towards him; falling on her knees in front of him she grabbed him by the shoulders, "Pitch? What's wrong? It's me, I'm telling the truth. Pitch, I love you!" she pleaded desperately.

"_See!" _the voice snarled at him through the ringing, _"The real Autumn_ _didn't love you, you knew she didn't. This girl is a fake!" _Taking its words to heart, Pitch felt his heart break in two, the voice was right, his hope was gone; he stopped fighting it then, giving way to the creature in his head.

And then he was still, he didn't move, or speak. Autumn had to double check to make sure he was even still breathing. And then he moved, letting go of his head he gently grabbed her wrists with both his hands.

"Pitch?" she whispered hopeful.

His head snapped up, and his grip on her wrist tightened painfully, Autumn gasped, he was glaring at her; his eyes had turned blood red, no longer the mix between silver and gold she had loved so much. She gulped, becoming just a bit frightened. And then he spoke.

"No, stupid girl…Not Pitch…Not anymore." He smiled a wicked smile at her. Autumn gasped again, she knew that voice, it wasn't Pitches voice anymore; it was the same voice she had fought away in her own head. Now it had taken over Pitch. She gasped as Pitch stood and dragged her harshly up with him.

"Pitch, this isn't you! You have to fight him-NO!" she yelled at the guardians rushing to her aid, "Don't come near him! This isn't Pitch anymore, it's someone else, and he's dangerous!"

The group stopped running, exchanging confused glances with each other. Autumn looked back to Pitch, and though she was frightened she gave him the most loving smile she could muster.

"Pitch," she whispered softly, "I know you're in there, it's me…it's Autumn, I've come home to you. Now it's your turn to come home to me." Pitch glared, his red eyes glowing maliciously.

"Ignorant wench," he shouted as he threw her to the ground. She gasped in pain as her injured shoulder collided with the ice causing the ice to begin cracking beneath her.

"No!" Jack shouted as he kneeled down to place his hand on the ice, planning to strengthen it so she wouldn't fall in, but she stopped him.

"Jack," she smiled, "No, it's gonna be okay. I promise." Jack doubted it, but stood up slowly, ready to jump into action at any moment, and never taking his eyes off the cracking ice.

Autumn turned her attention back to Pitch. "Pitch, it's time to come home. You've been gone for far too long."

"Are you really that stupid? I-" he started to berate her but was quickly interrupted.

"Quite!" she snarled back at him, "I'm talking to Pitch, not to you! So shut up and butt out!" His red eyes went wide, not in fear but in shock. Even the guardian's mouths were hanging open at her sudden ferocity.

"Pitch," she softened her tone and her eyes, "Do you remember when the world stopped celebrating the autumn season? Do you remember how I got so sick that I couldn't even leave our home?" Pitch's expression turned from one of shock to one of amusement, as he watched the ice crack a little more underneath her, but he remained silent as he crossed his arms.

"Do you remember what you did? You stayed by my side, you took care of me; you never gave up on me! Well now I'm not giving up on you!" her voice grew louder, becoming more desperate to get her Pitch back, she was so close. His amused grin began to fade as he felt a harsh tug on his mind. His eyes were beginning to flash between red and gold as he snarled in frustration.

"Do you remember what you said to me?" she continued, "It was the very first thing I had said to you when we first met!" she looked down as the ice became thinner and less stable underneath her.

"Shut up, stupid girl!" Pitch snarled at her as he clung to his head once more. She was winning; the creature was being pushed back.

"Never give up, Pitch!" she continued in earnest, she was shouting desperately now, tears were streaking down her face as the ice continued to crack, "Never give up on what you love most. That's what you said; well I'm not giving up on you! I should have said this a long time ago but, I love you! And no matter what happens, no matter what you do or what you've done, you are always, ALWAYS, forgiven!"

Pitch fell to his knees then, her words echoed thru his head and he knew, finally, he knew she was real; now he had a reason to fight. He fought with all his strength, clutching his head as the ringing returned full blast as he pushed his way back to control. Still he fought; he fought for her, she was finally here, after all this time, and he refused to be separated from her again.

Closing his eyes tight, he muttered only just loud enough for everyone to hear, "I…am the Nightmare King…And no one gets to live in my head but me…Get…OUT!" he yelled to the creature that was causing him pain. Autumn gasped as black smoke began to rise from the top of his head, swirling and lingering just above him, red eyes seemed to appear in the dark mist. And then everyone heard it, a deep, cruel voice echoed around them.

"_I'm not defeated so easily. I am everywhere all at once. You WILL see me again, make no mistake…Nightmare king." _And then the smoke vanished, fading into thin air. Pitch was on his hand and knees, panting and trying to regain his senses.

"Pitch?" Autumn asked hesitantly. He looked up at her, golden eyes shining in the morning sun, and to her immense relief, he smiled at her; a genuine heart felt smile. He was back, and this time, he knew who she was.

But his smile abruptly faded at the sound of a loud crack coming from the ice beneath Autumn, the ice was finally giving way. Autumn looked down at the ice and then back up to Pitch one final time, giving him a winning smile that seemed to say _'See, I told you everything would be alright.' _Pitch felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"No…not again" he muttered to himself.

And with one final crack, the ice collapsed in on itself at the exact same time Pitch sprang into action, moving so fast the Tooth fairy couldn't even keep up with him. Running at full speed and then falling to his knees as he slid fast across the ice, arms outstretched crashing right into Autumn, sweeping her into his arms and off of the collapsing ice that almost dragged her down with it.

As they tumbled down onto the ice, Autumn gasped as she, once again, landed on her injured shoulder underneath Pitch's weight; she just couldn't seem to catch a break. But she forgot about the small throbbing when she gazed up to meet the golden eclipsed eyes of the one she loved the most. Pitch was staring back down at her, hovering over her, eyes wide, terrified that he almost lost her again, and then his eyes traveled down to her chest, where her scar was.

Hesitantly he lifted a pale gray hand to touch the old wound gently, at then, as if finally, and once and for all realizing she was real, he gazed back up at her now smiling face. Her eyes were warm, and full of love…for him…all for him. Finally what he had longed for, for centuries, was right here in his arms.

And he couldn't stand to be so far away from her anymore, leaning down quickly, he crashed his lips onto hers, kissing her with us much force and as much passion as he could muster, trying desperately to tell her through their first kiss what he couldn't seem to form into words: _I missed you._

She seemed to understand his message, because to his shock and delight, she wrapped her arms gently around his neck, and kissed him back.

Off to the side, all but one of the guardians had big smiles on their faces. Jack smirked, but still had to look away, he couldn't deny that he still had feelings for her, but seeing how hard they had fought for each other, he also couldn't deny that she and Pitch belonged together. Jack stumbled forward a little as he felt a large hand crash down onto his shoulder. Looking up he met North's jolly grin, Jack smiled back as North winked at him.

When Autumn and Pitch pulled away from each other, Autumn took Pitch's face softly in between her hands.

"Welcome home, beloved." She whispered gently. Pitch smiled brightly back at her.

"Welcome home." He responded lovingly and he pushed himself up to a standing position taking her hands and hoisting her up with him. She winced as her shoulder smarted; Pitch frowned when he caught her wince and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened," he asked worriedly, she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Uhm, got a little too rough when I broke out of your cage." She muttered, and she regretted not lying when she saw the guilt cross his face. Gently she squeezed the hand that was still holding hers and smiled at him.

"It's over now," she whispered, "You are always forgiven, remember?" Pitch smiled at her, and squeezed her hand back.

"Pitch!" came a familiar booming Russian accent. Pitch groaned as he turned around, he had been so caught up with Autumn that he had completely forgotten the whole taking over the world thing.

"Pitch, we will leave you be, if you give us and whole world same courtesy. You have two choices now. Go home with Autumn, live the way you used to together and be happy. Or pursue power, loose Autumn, and get your butt kicked again." North chuckled

Turning back to Autumn Pitch smiled gently at her. "You won't worry about hearing from me again. But I still have to do my job as the Boogeyman, someone has to keep the Nightmare's under control." He turned his head back to North, searching for an answer. North nodded, pulling on his beard in thought, than stepped forward.

"You use fear same way you used to. To bring out best in people, do your job Pitch, but from now on, take Autumn with you. She will be your guardian." North had a knowing smile on his face. Pitch nodded in agreement, but this time Autumn stepped forward, a frown marring her gentle features.

"North, that black smoke we saw coming out of Pitch. It was living in his head, it had been living in my head to," she said loudly, Pitch turned his concerned gaze towards her, startled to hear what she had just said, "It's what caused my nightmares. It wanted me out of the way so it could have Pitch for a reason, it used me to get to him, and I don't think it's finished with us yet."

North's smile fell, as he nodded his head, "We will be on guard, we will let you know if we find anything, if you will do same for us."

Autumn nodded her head before turning to look up at Pitch, smile back in place. "Let's go home Pitch. We have a lot of catching up to do." She winked at him.

Pitch smiled back at her, he liked this new playful side of her, she was bold and strong, and he was so proud. Hand in hand they turned and headed back towards their old home in the Autumn forest. The guardians waved them goodbye from behind, and Jack's playful smile softened.

"Good luck, Autumn" he whispered as he watched them fade into the horizon.

"Now!" North bellowed, smiling down at Jack, "Are you ready to make it official?" Jack smiled back, knowing exactly what North was talking about, it was time for Jack to become a Guardian. And turning his head in the direct that Autumn and Pitch had disappeared, he nodded his head.

"Yea…I'm ready"

End

* * *

_**-So this is the end of Autumn's story, but it's the beginning of a series. I'm posting a sequel called "Sing me a Lullaby" Autumn and Pitch will be mentioned and possibly make an appearance in it, but it's going to be about another ROTG character I created. Hopefully it will be a bit better written and better thought out then this one was. And eventually all the characters I create will come together in one big finale story.**_

_**-If you're curious about the song Autumn sings to Pitch, go to you tube and search for Doctor who - The Long Song.  
**_

_**-If you're not interested in reading my sequel, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading to the very last chapter of The Autumn Harvest. And I hope you enjoyed!  
**_

_**See you in "Sing me a Lullaby"**_

_**Yours Forever,**_

_**~Luna Bella~**_


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